DURARARA!! Vol.9 Chapter 4, Part IV
♂♀
Somewhere in Tokyo, the rooftop of a building
“Yo, Courier. Did you have a good time with Shinra last night?”
Izaya greeted Celty with his usual smile, not knowing how much displeasure he was giving Shiki, his client.
Celty did not try to conceal her exasperation as she typed on her PDA:
[What did you mean by ‘a good time’? Stop picturing others’ private lives in your head.]
“That was mean. He only said that because he thinks Shinra and I are a sweet couple - that’s what you should have thought when you heard my words.”
[Enough about that. I heard about it.]
“About what?”
Izaya asked nonchalantly. Celty pushed the PDA quickly toward his face.
[About that scar on Shinra’s side.]
“……”
[He told me everything.]
“Of course he would only tell you. He never mentioned a word of it to anyone else, not even back in high school.”
He shook his head as if slightly shocked, but when Celty saw the way his smile remained firmly in place she had a feeling that he had in some way foreseen it. Izaya’s smile further confirmed Celty’s opinion about him.
[I can never trust you.]
“So what are you going to do? Turn down my offer?”
[No, that’s something different. No matter what happened in the past, you’re still one of Shinra’s only friends in this world.]
“Friends, you say…but do you really think that Shinra sees Shizu-chan or me as his friend?”
Izaya chuckled and said. Celty asked right away:
[What are you talking about?]
“He’s simply not interested in humans. In this whole wide world, the only thing he actually ‘sees’ is you. Even if Shizu-chan and I treat Shinra as a friend he’ll never so much as cast us a second glance. When all is said and done you are still the absolute top of his priority list. I think he remained on friendly terms with Shizu-chan and me only because of something you said a long time ago - something along the lines of ‘You should cherish your friends.’”
Celty stopped typing for a moment after hearing Izaya’s words.
It was true that she had often said such things to Shinra in the past.
Shinra had even lent a hand to Yagiri Pharmaceuticals for his love.
- He’s the kind of person who would lie to even me to be with me.
As a result, however, Celty fell for Shinra on the very night she found out about his lie.
She had now recalled what kind of person Shinra was from memories of her own relationship with him. Her shoulders sank as if from a sigh as she typed some more words onto the PDA:
[…I can’t say that I disagree with you entirely. He’s not the type to separate the good from the evil. It’s hard to say if he has ever felt the normal kind of friendship for you or Shizuo.]
“It is, isn’t it?”
[But the ‘normal kind of friendship’ is in itself too ambiguous a concept to define, isn’t it?]
Celty knew very well what Shinra was like -
But she still couldn’t help but feel annoyed when she heard Izaya speak ill of Shinra.
[Aren’t your standards skewed too if you only see someone as a friend if he puts you high on his priority list?]
“That is a misunderstanding. I already see every human being in the world, Shinra included, as my friend, lover and family…with the exception of Shizu-chan, of course.”
[You are interested in all human beings. Shinra is not interested in any of them…I still think Shinra is more normal than you are.]
Though Celty wanted to start talking about work as soon as possible, she still shot back at Izaya before she could help herself.
Izaya, however looked like he had a different opinion. With outstretched hands he answered:
“Shinra, more normal than I am? Not that I want to speak ill of him or anything, but now that Shinra’s told you about the scar on his side, I’d assume that you too have realized that he’s long been anything but normal, right?”
[Maybe.]
“Without doubt, the one who drove him mad was you, wasn’t it? Even if it was not your intention, Kishitani Shinra fell in love with a dullahan, something not human, something superior…or at least so Shinra thought. That was why he didn’t think humans were worth his attention at all, wasn’t it? Because he came to know something like you.”
These words sounded like they were meant to unsettle Celty. She remained calm, however, as she typed without avoiding the subject:
[Yes. I know that very well. I don’t think I’m nearly as perfect as he thinks I am, but I do think that I was the reason Shinra turned out abnormal.]
“So what are you going to do?”
[What else? I’m going to stay by his side till the very end, of course.]
Celty said straightforwardly.
Izaya averted his eyes somewhat as he threw a sarcastic remark at her:
“Is that your idea of atonement? If you keep defending Shinra like that you’ll only make him hate humans more…well, I wouldn’t actually say hate…you’ll only make Shinra care even less about humans than he does now.”
[Maybe. But I…I don’t want to leave him. I realized that again after he was injured. That’s why I can never forgive the one who hurt him. It’s also why I’m willing to accept your suspicious offer. ]
“……”
[I love Shinra, just like he loves me.]
The corners of Izaya’s mouth curled as he saw this line on the PDA. Shrugging, he said to Celty:
“That’s kind of embarrassing to hear. Why is it that you can say such things without feeling embarrassed? Is it because you’re more human than humans themselves or is it because you’re not? …Whatever. You’re still a monster, and I’m not interested in monsters.”
[Say whatever you want to say.]
“I have nothing else to say.”
Izaya walked to the fence around the rooftop and picked up a bag.
“We’d better start talking about work, then.”
♂♀
Several minutes later
The Courier in the black rider suit left the building. She was stroking the seat of her Black Motorbike.
In her left hand there was a black leather bag for laptop computers. It seemed to be what Orihara Izaya had trusted her with.
A man who had been watching her every move from behind the vending machine spoke into his cell phone:
“It’s the Black Motorbike. There’s no mistaking it.”
A composed voice of a man came from the other end of the phone.
“So it has to do with Orihara Izaya after all.”
“Shijima, what exactly did Kumoi-san say?”
“He is curious about what Orihara Izaya is asking her to transport, but I’m pretty sure he’s looking into the whole ‘Amphibaena’ business. Maybe he already has a clue.”
“Should we just do nothing and see how it goes for the moment?”
“…No. That way Awakusu-kai might crush ‘Amphisbaena’ before we can get our hands on ‘Amphisbaena”s system. That would totally defeat the purpose.”
Shijima and his men in “Heaven Slave” became aware of the existence of “Amphisbaena” only after their catastrophic encounter with Akabayashi.
One of their drug clients had been to the underground casinos “Amphisbaena” ran, so they tried sending several of their men to infiltrate the underground casinos.
After several gambling meetings, however, none of them received any further notice of a next meeting.
They’ve noticed us - so Shijima had concluded.
The client who had told them about “Amphisbaena” stopped getting those notices as well. He complained in their faces, but shut up as soon as they threatened to cut his supply of drugs.
As they looked further into the matter they soon knew why.
The secret was in the special chips shaped like large coins and distributed only to members.
When they carefully took the high-tech pieces of machinery apart, they found that not only did they work as proofs of membership and electronic records of wins and losses -
They also contained things that looked like taps and transmitters.
That was probably how they were able to obtain information on any suspicious activity on the clients’ part and immediately stop sending them notices of meetings.
The batteries inside these chips only last for a limited period of time, of course - but new chips were distributed to replace the old ones at every meeting. The members had been told that it was to prevent electronic fraud on the data stored inside. But now that Shijima and his men thought about it, the real purpose must have been to ensure that the chips wouldn’t run out of battery life.
Combining GPS with a tapping device would be the best way to gather secret information on the members and threaten them when necessary.
On the other hand, they would be in trouble if the members became aware of these tapping devices. Shijima assumed that these chips would automatically send out some sort of signal when opened, and as a result the member would no longer be invited to future meetings.
“Kumoi-san really wants that system. I also find it extremely attractive myself. If we are careful in selecting locations we can create a whole new transaction network for ‘Heaven Slave’. Moreover, it would never hurt to have a way to get our hands on taps and transmitters in that kind of quantity.”
“So we’re not going to crush them?”
The man asked as he kept his eyes on the Black Motorbike. Shijima nodded on the other end of the phone and said:
“No, we’re not…I’d be satisfied with the most fair deal with them we can strike. To make that happen we will need their personal information.”
“Are you saying that you’re counting on that information broker named Orihara Izaya?”
“Exactly. If he’s working for Awakusu-kai on this matter we’ll have to have him dealt with before he finishes the job.”
“Dealt with?”
The man couldn’t help but ask when he heard the businesslike phrase.
Shijima’s answer, however, was even colder and with less mercy.
“We’ll be in trouble if Awakusu-kai catches wind of this. Once we get the information from him it’ll be the best to make him disappear in silence.”
“Kill him, you mean.”
“You don’t say that out aloud in the street. What if someone hears you?”
“Wait, even if worst comes to worst…why can’t we just work with him…?”
The man couldn’t help but feel fear for Shijima for how easily the latter had decided to kill another man. Shijima, on the other hand, answered in a tone that seemed to say ‘What is wrong with you?’:
“We’re talking about ‘Amphisbaena’ here. They’re Awakusu-kai’s enemies, so we’ll have no problem working with them. But Orihara Izaya is moving on Awakusu-kai’s very own orders. How on earth would it be possible to get him to work with us?”
“But…”
“Why are you such a coward in your thoughts? Granted, we failed, but we did set out to kill Awakusu-kai’s Akabayashi once, remember?”
“But he’s a non-yakuza.”
The man insisted. Shijima replied calmly:
“I wouldn’t call someone moving on Awakusu-kai’s orders a non-yakuza.”
“But…”
“Hang on. I got a message from Kumoi-san.”
“…!?”
As soon as he heard the name “Kumoi” the hesitant man froze entirely as if a hand made of dry ice had just grasped his head.
“I’m going out to meet him.”
“…Are you?”
“Yeah…even if that means more scars for me.”
Shijima sighed and proceeded to say to the man with a chuckle:
“I’ll make sure that Orihara Izaya suffers for whatever kind of scars I’m going to get."
Finally, Shijima let some laughter escape his lips before saying:
“See? Now we have yet another reason to kill him.”
♂♀
12 years ago, Raijin Middle School, the last day of summer vacation
- “I still don’t think this is right.”
- “How is this any of your business?”
- “You see, I’ve told my family that you’re my friend.”
- “So?”
- “So if I don’t stop a friend when he does this kind of thing in front of me, well, it’ll put me in a difficult position.”
- “Are you a fool, Shinra? You sound like a puppet with no will of your own. Everything you do is for putting up a good show in front of your family.”
- “I wouldn’t mind being a puppet if it means I can stay connected to my loved one.”
- “You’re not even making sense.”
The one who heard this “peaceful quarrel” was a student from the Art Club who happened to be walking past the Biology Room.
It did not sound like the kind of quarrel that would lead to a fight, so the student simply kept walking as if nothing had happened.
Only five minutes later, however -
“What was that noise!?”
The PE teacher heard the sound of glass breaking when he was busy coaching club activities on the playground. He arrived at the Biology Room as quickly as he could -
What he saw there was a student bleeding from his side, which had been wrapped up in bandages. The student was pale; his shoulders heaved with every breath he took.
“Kishitani!? What happened?”
Kishitani Shinra smiled reassuringly at the teacher with his pale face and muttered in a small voice:
“It’s just that I was…stabbed…could you…call an ambulance, please?”
Several hours later -
Orihara Izaya, who had fled the scene of the crime, surrendered himself to the police. He was taken into protective custody.
It was an incident in which the Vice President of the Biology Club had stabbed the President of the Biology Club in the school and fled.
No report of damage was filed by Kishitani Shinra or his father detailing what had happened between Shinra and Izaya. The school was too conscious about its public image to want the incident publicized. As a result, nothing appeared in any mass media and the incident itself quietly faded into obscurity.
Only two scars were to remain forever: one on Shinra’s side, the other on Izaya’s record.
CHATROOM
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No one is in the chatroom right now.
No one is in the chatroom right now.
No one is in the chatroom right now.
Tanaka Taro-san has joined the chat.
Tanaka Taro
Hello.
Tanaka Taro
Long time no see.
Tanaka Taro
I checked out the logs. Looks like there have been a lot of people I haven’t met before.
Tanaka Taro
I’m Tanaka Taro.
Tanaka Taro
Sorry I haven’t had the time to come here more often.
Tanaka Taro
I think it’s going to be quite a while before I can come back here again.
Tanaka Taro
Oh, not that I got myself in trouble or anything. I’m just kind of busy…
Tanaka Taro
When I do have the time to come back here again I will work hard like a new member.
Tanaka Taro
I look forward to chatting with Setton-san and the others about things happening in Ikebukuro.
Tanaka Taro
I’ll be saying goodbye for now, then.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
I’ve now made it so that only you, Kanra-san…well, Orihara-san, can see what I’m saying.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
I don’t know if you’re looking at what I’m saying, but I wanted to tell you.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
There are things I’m putting myself to right now.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
Things you might already know, Orihara-san.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
But I’m not doing those things because I’ve been told by anyone.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
I wanted to make sure that at least there’s you who knows that I’m doing those things because I want to, Orihara-san.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
To be honest with you, I’m scared.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
But I know that I have to do them…
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
I also know that I only burden you with all the talk. I’m sorry.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
It’s fine if you just skim through what I’ve said and say nothing…
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
I just wanted someone else to bear witness to the way I’m feeling right now…
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
That alone is enough to keep me going.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
You said to me last year at our first gathering, Orihara-san
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
“If you really want to get away from your everyday life, you’ll have to keep evolving.”
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
But I never was able to make myself evolve.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
I now crave a return to my everyday life.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
I want to go back to the kind of life I had with Sonohara-san and Masaomi.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
That’s why I want to get it back.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
I want Dollars back the way it was on that night.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
I don’t want to get away from my everyday life anymore.
[Private mode] Tanaka Taro
I just want to go back to those days. That is all.
Bakyura-san has joined the chat.
Bakyura
Hello
Bakyura
Tanaka Taro-san,
Bakyura
I’m sorry to hear that you won’t be coming for a while
Bakyura
We’ll talk later then
[Private mode] Bakyura
Mikado,
[Private mode] Bakyura
If it’s about what happened recently,
[Private mode] Bakyura
I don’t mind
[Private mode] Bakyura
In fact,
[Private mode] Bakyura
For you and Anri,
[Private mode] Bakyura
It’s probably harder to understand why I disappeared all of a sudden
[Private mode] Bakyura
But,
[Private mode] Bakyura
There are things I must talk to you about first
Tanaka Taro
Hello, Bakyura-san
Tanaka Taro
Say hello to everyone else for me, then.
Tanaka Taro
Bye.
Tanaka Taro-san has left the chat.
[Private mode] Bakyura
Mikado
[Private mode] Bakyura
You stayed for a while after you said you were going to leave,
[Private mode] Bakyura
Were you leaving private messages for someone else?
[Private mode] Bakyura
I won’t ask who it was,
[Private mode] Bakyura
Anyway,
[Private mode] Bakyura
I want to speak with you.
[Private mode] Bakyura
Next time you’re here, check out the logs again,
[Private mode] Bakyura
And if you want to talk to me just reply to my message here
[Private mode] Bakyura
I’ll call you
Bakyura-san has left the chat.
No one is in the chatroom right now.
No one is in the chatroom right now.
No one is in the chatroom right now.
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(END OF CHAPTER 4)