DURARARA!! Vol.6 CHAPTER 5, PART VI
♂♀
Somewhere in Tokyo, inside Masaomi's apartment
"Hey, Masaomi."
The refreshing May breeze was filling the old apartment through the open window.
Inside the room, a casual voice that sounded like the spring view outside could be heard.
Masaomi, who was looking out of the window, turned around hastily as he heard Mikajima Saki mutter over the book she was reading.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Are you not going?"
"Going where?"
Masaomi smiled and asked.
A soft smile appeared on Saki's face like morning light. She muttered the very words that unsettled Masaomi:
"To your friends."
"…"
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop. But your voice was so loud when you were talking to Izaya-san on the phone. I couldn't help but overhear. I'm sorry."
Saki said in a voice that sounded somewhat out of this world. Masaomi opened his mouth and remained immobile for a couple of seconds.
He was going to say something, but for a moment he could not think of anything to say.
So he simply turned his gaze outside of the window again, trying to let his head cool down at the view.
After a couple of seconds, when he finally thought of an answer to Saki's question, he turned around slowly -
And almost bumped into Saki's face.
She was so close. Their noses were almost touching.
Masaomi forgot everything he was about to say at the sight of Saki's smiling face right in front of his nose.
"Ah…"
But he tried to say something anyway -
Suddenly Saki turned her back on him and slowly leaned onto him.
"O-Oi!"
Strands of Saki's hair rose in the wind, teasing his lips. The scent of shampoo surrounded his face, softening his heart.
"Are you still afraid?"
"…Yeah."
Was all Masaomi could answer in this awkward position, not being able to pull himself out in fear that Saki would fall.
They looked like a happy pair of love birds from any angle, but Masaomi's face was filled with inexplicable sorrow.
"What are you afraid of?"
"…"
"That they'll hate you? Your friends, I mean."
"Well, it's not only that…but yeah, I guess ultimately it's because of that."
Masaomi raised his face and stared at the ceiling. Saki lowered her gaze and said in a quiet voice:
"It's going to be fine. I don't think they're going to hate you, Masaomi."
"…What are you talking about, Saki? You don't even know Mikado or Anri."
Though Masaomi had mentioned "Anri", the name of another girl, Saki did not seem to mind at all. Instead, she said in a child's best soothing voice:
"I don't know them, but I think it's going to be fine."
"You're so optimistic."
"I don't know your friends, but I know you, Masaomi. That's why I believe you will have no problem with your friends. You chose them, after all."
"Saki, I think you're the type of girl who would be easily taken in."
Saki kept smiling even at Masaomi's bewilderment.
"And I don't want Masaomi to look so lonely."
"…I'm not lonely. I have you, Saki."
Masaomi was telling the truth.
But Saki questioned it without a second thought.
"How do you know?"
"Hey!"
"I'm Masaomi's lover. But Masaomi, I can never become your friend."
"…"
Masaomi fell silent at Saki's words.
As if chasing him further into his silence, Saki grasped Masaomi's hand as he embraced her shoulder.
"But if all Masaomi's friends say they hate you, Masaomi…if you're feeling very, very down, Masaomi…remember that I will be here to hold you tight. That's my responsibility as a lover."
"Saki…"
"You can always come home to me, Masaomi. Don't forget that. But I won't be able to help Masaomi's friends. That's something only Masaomi can do, isn't it?"
Saki turned around swiftly and hugged him with an innocent look on her face.
"…Ah, that's true. Thank you, Saki."
Masaomi thought some more as he saw her smile.
Her innocence did not mean that she was a saint. On the contrary, it was a sign that as a human being, part of her was already broken.
Masaomi realized that he was in the same position.
The reason was none other than himself.
He fell from a very high place and broke. That was it.
But before he did, someone had definitely pushed him on the back.
To be exact, someone pushed him up and up the hill as he climbed - and released him just as he was about to trip over and fall.
The same man was now pushing his best friend on the back.
Masaomi lowered his gaze again and made a decision.
- I'm going to help Mikado.
Yet I needed so much encouragement from Saki and such determination to make this one simple decision. God, I'm really broken, am I not.
The boy thought as he smiled softly back at Saki.
After getting only the absolutely necessary things ready, he left his apartment without delay.
The boy kept running away from his everyday life and into the center of conflicts.
To help his best friend Mikado, he now headed for the center of yet another conflict.
♂♀
Somewhere in Ikebukuro
Just as Masaomi flung himself into the gang war -
The place was a remote spot away from the street the Station was on.
It was a place with few passers-by even during Golden Week - not an unusual occurrence in any city. Strangely, however, a densely populated spot appeared in this place today.
The few passers-by would shoot them a look, wondering what was going on. As soon as they realized that these were gangsters, however, they walked away as quickly as possible.
Had they been standing in front of the Station, a crowded street, or a tourist attraction, people would probably have already alerted the police. But since they seemed to be just congregating in a place that bothered no one and doing nothing in particular, everyone who walked by this crowd simply chose to stay as far away as possible to preserve their own interests.
If they knew what was actually going on in the center of the crowd, however, some of them would probably have alerted the police at all costs. These delinquents were aware of it as well; they were blocking the entrance to this place from sight for a reason.
In the center of the crowd, an unsettled voice of a girl was heard from further down the narrow alleyway.
"…I'm sorry, but you are…?"
Next to Kamichika Rio, several girls her age stayed immobile in fear.
These were the same girls who went out to lunch with her after she had greeted Anri on the Ikebukuro streets.
After leaving the restaurant, they walked off the crowded street to go to the park for some rest when one of the girls checked her cell phone and stopped dead in her tracks:
"…What is this?"
"? What's up?"
"L-Look, I've been getting a lot of text messages from this 'Dollars' mailing list…and this newest one…look, isn't this us?"
The girl turned the display screen of her cell phone to show everyone the photo. On it they saw themselves eating inside the restaurant.
"It says they're looking for Non…Non, do you know why?"
The girl who was holding the cell phone asked. At the same time, her cell phone rang again indicating a new message.
The girl opened it with shaking hands, and -
"Found the girls. We're going to have a party with them!"
The message came with a photo attached as well. On it they recognized the street they had only just walked on minutes ago and their own backs.
The girls began to shudder and look cautiously around.
That was when they saw several men walking towards them.
In the other direction, there were men giving off the same vibe coming towards them as well -
"L-Let's run."
One of the girls muttered. Rio and her friends ran immediately into the narrower alleyway nearby. As a result, of course, they were cornered in a spot with even less pedestrians passing by.
After they got the girls cornered, one of the delinquents said with a sickening grin on his face:
"Ah, yeah, right. What are we? Hm - look, how should I put it - we're kind of a bunch of suspicious men."
The alleyway was blocked from both directions. It didn't look like they would be let to escape.
"I-If we shout, the cops are going to come right away..."
One of the girls muttered. But the delinquents merely laughed.
"There are fights all over this place today. The cops are busy enough as it is. Speaking of which, speaking of wheeeech, you're Non-chan, aren't ya?"
The man's tone changed suddenly. Pointing his chin at one of the girls, he spat in a rage:
"Your boyfriend is messing up the place so much that the cops are all over them instead! Do you understand?"
"…Rocchi is?"
The girl muttered a strange name.
But Rio and the others knew what it meant. It was the nickname of the boyfriend Non mentioned often.
The delinquents did not know that, but they had probably guessed as well that "Rocchi" could only be referring to the leader of Toramaru.
They grinned maliciously and stepped closer to the girls.
"Rocchi or Micchi, no one's gonna come to save you now, Bitchy."
"Here here. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Come, just come with us for a minute. Come, come."
The delinquents teased, but their eyes flashed dangerously.
It looked like not only Non, but all the other girls would end up being dragged into their van or something and taken away as well.
Non looked as if she was furious at herself. She looked at the man opposite her and said slowly:
"…I get it. I'll come with you. But you must let the others go."
"N-Non…! No! You can't do that!"
Rio tried to stop her right away. But her words were cut off as another man interrupted rather inconsiderately.
"Nah, nah, nah. That's not gonna work! If we let the others go, they'll go to the cops for sure. That way the cops will come, and we'll be in trouble. Nah - "
At that moment, one of the man suddenly covered a girl's mouth with his hand.
"Urgh…!"
The man stifled the girl's voice and put a knife to her throat.
"Here, here. If you shout, I might cut her by accident."
Rio and the others fell silent at the sight of the shining blade against the girl's white neck.
A black van had stopped outside the alleyway in the meantime, its door open.
"You sure we can stuff five people in?"
Grasping their arms and covering their mouths, the dozen men dragged the confused girls out of the alleyway. It was an unusual sight.
"We can if we squeeze them in." "I want to squeeze in too!"
"Are you an ape or something?" "Exciting ride with high school chicks! Thank you!"
"God, you're sick!."
"But the one who was seen with Kadota, is he really Toramaru's leader?"
"Yeah, there's no mistaking it. I've seen the guy before."
More pointless chatter.
Or at least it was no more than chatter for these delinquents.
For the girls, on the other hand, the casualness in their tone was a painful reminder of the reality, sinking them further into despair -
"W-Wait a moment!"
A voice that sounded extremely out of place was heard. It was from a boy who still looked somewhat like a child.
Every gaze was focused on his childlike face. Panting, he looked back at them with shaking shoulders.
"Ryuugamine…kun?"
The face Rio saw none other than Ryuugamine Mikado, her classmate.
But just like she was not close with Anri, neither was she close with him.
Question marks popped up in Rio's head. The boy, however, didn't have the time to answer them. Summoning as much courage as he could, he shouted:
"W-What are you doing?"
The delinquents exchanged looks and frowned. As if trying to get rid of a fly, they waved their hands at the boy and said in cold voices:
"Whatever we're doing, it's none of your business, kid."
"Yes, it is!"
"Huh?"
"I-I'm a Dollars member too. I came here because…I saw the message."
It took almost all the courage Mikado had in him to say it.
But whether because of his confusion or his fear to see Dollars members arrested, he did not alert the police.
He came here as nothing more than a Dollars member.
"B-But, taking girls hostage is too…"
Before he could finish his sentence, one of the delinquents was already heading his way with a malicious smirk.
"Ah, yeah, we know about that. Just shut up, kid!"
As he said that, he kicked Mikado in the chest.
It was by no means a powerful kick; he was an untrained delinquent, after all.
Had Mikado been Heiwajima Shizuo, he'd probably have hardly even felt it. But he would get mad at the sight of the footprint on his belly and punch the delinquent till he flew higher than a two-story building.
Had he been Orihara Izaya, he would probably have already driven a knife into the palm of the delinquent's foot.
Had he been Kida Masaomi, he would probably have dodged it and begun to counterattack.
Had he been Celty Sturluson, he would probably have bound the delinquent to the ground with shadow ropes.
He was, however, just Mikado, a high school student with average - no, below average - physical strength.
It was most unfortunate, but Mikado happened to be "nothing out of ordinary" in the situation he was in.
"Argh…"
Mikado fell onto the ground and curled up into a fetal position.
His stomach felt as if a heavy ball of iron had been dropped into it.
Before the pain could register, his brain was taken over by agony. His body screamed "Don't move!", but his nerves couldn't take the agony anymore. They yelled "Roll around!" in shrill voices.
"Argh…argh…"
"If you're in Dollars, don't you know this? There's no rule in Dollars that says you can't take women hostage."
The man looked down at the naive boy on the ground and began to teach him about "Dollars" in an arrogant manner.
Of course, they did not know that Mikado was the founder of Dollars.
But even if they knew and believed it - would their attitude have changed?
Mikado continued to groan in pain as he sought to answer that question. Soon he came to the conclusion: no.
Even if he spoke to them as the founder of Dollars, it would have made no difference whatsoever - because that was just what Dollars was.
"It's not only that. Dollars has no rules to bind us. Of course, neither does it have a rule that says we should listen to kids like you."
Mikado's shoulders were touching his knees. The man kicked his shoulder as he spoke.
Mikado rolled on the asphalt, still thinking.
- Ah, that's right.
- This man was right.
Dollars has no rules.
No one can force anyone else to do anything.
I was the one who made it that way.
Mikado thought and clenched his teeth. The delinquents, meanwhile, sounded somewhat shocked as they talked amongst themselves.
"Looks like Dollars does have all sorts of people to offer. Never thought there would be kids like that one. Would someone have called the cops, too?"
"Get your asses to Raira's Second Ground quick. Staying here is getting boring. Let's finish off the Toramaru bastards and take these girls to someone's place to have fun."
Mikado gritted his teeth harder as he heard their voices.
- No.
- This is…not it.
- These people are…not it.
- This…
- This is not the Dollars I had in my mind at all!
Mikado simply refused toaccept the reality right in front of his eyes.
Trying to suppress the sick feeling in his stomach, Mikado rose to his feet to shout at the men already getting into the van.
"Stop…!"
"…Huh?"
One of the delinquents who looked like the center of the "Dollars" group raised his eyebrow and said:
"What was that? Didn't catch that."
His tone was teasing, but his voice was not without menace.
Mikado, however, did not wince as he shouted from the bottom of his stomach:
"Dollars…Dollars would never sink as low as taking girls hostage!"
"…Shut up!"
The delinquent leader was obviously exasperated at being called "low" by someone as inferior to them as Mikado was. Before he could think further about what Mikado had said, he had already swung his fist at Mikado's face.
"Oi, we'll be in trouble if he goes to the cops. You three, take care of this kid and make sure he's broken like a sandbag. "
"W-Wait! We want to be with the girls too!"
"You will! It's not even gonna take a second to take care of a kid like that."
The taste of iron filled Mikado's mouth as he fell to the ground again.
The inside of his mouth was probably bleeding. He might have broken a tooth or two.
But these weren't important to Mikado right now.
What pained him more was the fact that the man who hit him did not even bother to look at him.
The mental pain was several times more severe than what he was suffering physically.
It might be paining him even more than the fact that he had not been able to save those girls -
By the time Mikado struggled to get back on his feet, the black van was nowhere to be seen. Only three delinquents remained behind to corner him.
"Oi, get up, kid."
"Urgh…"
Mikado sought to fight back, but never having been in a fight before, he could hardly make his fist listen to him.
His clumsy fists weren't even as steady as an elementary school bully's. The delinquents laughed and hit him again, making him fall back on the ground.
Mikado couldn't even remember how he fell.
The only thing he felt was the merciless kick on his side.
His arms and legs were going numb under repeated stomping. He began to wonder if his bones were broken in places. The fibers in his muscles felt as if they were disintegrating.
"Wah….arghhhhhh!"
Mikado couldn't help but wail.
Seeing him in pain, one of the torturers laughed and said:
"Yo, kid. You remember me?"
"…Huh…ah…?"
Mikado struggled to raise his head and look at the man with eyes watering in pain. His head was stomped mercilessly back onto the ground the next second by a heavy shoe.
"It was more than a year ago…some bastard broke my ex's cell phone. You were his friend, weren't you? You looked like a kid, I couldn't believe you were in high school…so I remembered your face very…well!"
The delinquent let his weight fall on his shoe, grinding Mikado's face hard on the asphalt.
Mikado felt his nose twisted into such an impossible position that blood began to squirt out of it.
"And the Black Motorbike showed up out of nowhere to ruin everything…are you friends with him too? You can't possibly be."
- This guy…?
His face did not ring a bell, but Mikado tried hard to remember who he was in the overwhelming pain.
The next words he said finally made Mikado recall who he was. It was an ordinary memory for Mikado, so ordinary that he wouldn't have been surprised if he forgot about it altogether.
"I only got to know this recently after I joined Dollars. His name's Orihara Izaya, right? The one who broke my ex's cell phone. Looks like he's pretty famous."
- Ah.
It was back when Mikado had only been in Ikebukuro for a couple of days. He had tried to save Anri from some bullies, and Izaya had stomped on one of those girls's cell phone.
A few days after someone had come to his school gate claiming to be the bully's boyfriend. Celty had appeared then, however, and sent him unconscious with one kick.
A cracking sound reached Mikado's ears from inside him.
No parts of his body were being kicked, but Mikado felt sure that he heard the sound of his own spine being ground under a foot.
"Goodness. Just because all your friends are big names you think you can put up a fight against us? Or were you thinking you'd be in the same league as us just by registering at that Dollars website? Argh?"
His back was being stomped on, but Mikado could no longer feel pain.
He was overcome by one single emotion he had never felt before, one that was stronger than any kind of physical pain.
He remembered.
He remembered everything about this man.
"A little bastard like you, in Dollars? You're just getting in the…way!"
The man suddenly decided to deliver a kick at Mikado's head - at the same time, he muttered something silently to himself.
It was a thought Mikado would never dream of thinking in his everyday life.
- Ah, I remember now…
- It was that…
- That boring bastard.
It was the first time any definite "change" took place in Ryuugamine Mikado's heart.
But since it was only taking place in his heart, no one had been able to notice.
Mikado was not able to pursue the thought any further. His head was kicked forcefully, and his consciousness left him.
(TO BE CONTINUED IN PART VII)