DURARARA Vol.3 Izaya+Namie+Masaomi scene (Part II)
“Oops. Who could it be? I didn't get a heads-up. Cops wouldn't be so nice as to have rung the doorbell, though."
"......I realize it's not likely, but hopefully not anyone from Yagiri Pharmaceuticals?"
Namie, who had formerly been a gem for Yagiri Pharmaceuticals, was now wanted by her old home company for certain reasons. Frowning, she went to check the screen on the intercom.
The image on the screen reflected the entrance of this building rather than this apartment. Since the building had a security system that denied anyone access unless somebody inside the building let them in, it effectively keeps most questionable people from entering.
"Huh, it's a boy...looks like he's a still a high schooler."
Namie muttered in bewilderment as she saw the boy on the screen.
Kids weren't uncommon visitors of Izaya's. But mostly it was the girls who worshipped him. Those ranged from gothic lolitas to gyarus, though the majority of them simply took Izaya to be a fortune teller of sorts.
Boys, however, were indeed rare. Was he a brother or relative of one of those girls and came to Izaya seeking revenge?
As Namie found herself wondering, Izaya clapped his hands together in a cheerful smack and spoke.
"Dude, he came fast. It's barely been ten minutes since we spoke on the phone. I was thinking he wouldn't be here till tomorrow. Except...maybe a little too fast..."
Without warning, Izaya was already peeking at the screen from behind Namie's shoulder. The moment he saw who it was, he unlocked the entrance door immediately.
"......Who is that?"
"A friend of mine. He's like my treasured little brother......or, as I would put it - "
Izaya answered Namie's question without hesitation.
" - he's......the King of sacrificed pieces."
*
"Cheers, Masaomi-kun. I knew you would come."
Several minutes later in the apartment, Masaomi looked at Izaya - who was greeting him - and spoke while turning his own ruminative eyes away.
"Mm...I haven't seen you since last spring when you and Mikado-kun ran into me on the street."
"Right...long time, no see."
"I missed this face. It's the one you've always worn before. Yeah...you had the face of an adult even when you were still in middle school. To celebrate the past...how about I greet you this way."
Izaya grinned as he observed the unnatural expression on Masaomi's face.
"'Welcome back.'"
Just that.
It was derision of the highest caliber, as well as an insult - for Izaya, however, it was also the ultimate welcome.
Masaomi knew Izaya well; that was why he chose to remain silent.
The man right in front of him was a monster who devoured people starting from words.
Had he replied to that without thinking, Izaya would have clawed at Masaomi's words with his own and gone on to lacerate and eventually feast on his flesh.
- Why did he ever cling on to the idea of relying on this man when Saki was in danger?
He had been avoiding any contact with Izaya ever since. He told all his friends over and over again - "Never have anything to do with that one."
But that was no longer an option since he had to rely on Izaya now even if it meant being used.
When Kadota referred to Izaya as "the guy who had seen the leader of Dollars", Masaomi had actually suspected something.
Namely - was Orihara Izaya himself the leader of Dollars?
For a guy like him, envisioning something like Dollars and making it happen should have been easy.
In the same vein, he could have manipulated the Slashers to attack the Yellow Turbans just as easily and without remorse.
He had the capability and ethical standards, or lack thereof.
This man was never to be taken lightly.
"Don't stare at me like that."
Eyes fixated on Izaya, Masaomi had just made up his mind to open his mouth when -
"You're thinking I'm the leader of Dollars, aren't you?"
The information broker hit the mark with a preemptory strike.
"......No, I'm not......"
Yet Masaomi looked away without meaning to. Izaya didn't seem to care as he led Masaomi into the living room with a soft smile.
The room was way too poorly-lit to live up to the functions of a living room - not to mention jampacked bookshelves occupied most of the space.
Light from the window was obscured by the piles of bookshelves, leaving the person facing Izaya with the meager brightness the indoor lighting had to offer and adding to the oppressive atmosphere.
"Here. I have the general idea of what you want to know. ......Well, I could have told you everything over the phone, but I thought it would prove too heavy a topic to be taken care of like that."
"......"
"So I heard your friend has fallen victim to the Slashers? Ahh, let me see, her name is...Sonohara Anri-chan, right? Your fellow Yellow Turbans have also been attacked...but for you, that girl is more important."
Masaomi wasn't all that wavered at the early mention of Anri's name.
True, he hardly talked about Anri with people other than Mikado or his classmates. But it would come as no surprise if the information broker knew it from somewhere.
Masaomi avoided unnecessary talking in order to maintain his composure. Izaya, however, leisurely countered his efforts with his choice of the next topic.
"Don't tell me she reminded you of Saki-chan?"
"Please stop."
Masaomi turned his eyes away.
Izaya, on the other hand, inclined his body slightly to follow the direction of Masaomi's gaze.
Observing closely the expression on the boy's face, Izaya curved the corner of his mouth in intensifying glee.
"If it's a situation where the girl you like is wounded because of a gang war - in this case between Dollars and Yellow Turbans - got it, got it. It's indeed the thing with Saki-chan all over again."
"......"
Izaya continued even when Masaomi kept decidedly silent.
"So what're you thinking, exactly? If this time you don't run away, you'll at last be able to break with your past self?"
"I've never thought of that."
"By that you meant 'I think I've never thought of that', correct?"
Izaya ignored Masaomi's denial.
Like a veteran actor rehearsing a monologue, he reasoned at length in a voice that resounded within the room.
A clear and solid-sounding analysis.
But it was more wishful thinking than actual reasoning.
"Isn't this what you're thinking? 'I really liked Saki, yet I was too afraid to go rescue her. Maybe I was actually not as into her as I thought? Was my love superficial? Was it nothing more than sex drive? Was her body all that I was after?' And you begin to wish that it was indeed so, since it makes you feel better that way. Because if that is true, it means you will at least be able to risk your life to save a girl you really like - and the touchstone for that would be Sonohara Anri, right?"
Izaya continued flatly without even leaving Masaomi the room to get a word in edgewise, let alone protest.
Namie, still working at the desk, sighed from behind the shelves after he finished that monologue.
- It would take a guy like him to deliver that speech so seamlessly.
That Kida boy probably hadn't even thought of that much himself; but now, pressured by Izaya's words, it wouldn't surprise her if he began to let himself be convinced that those were his own thoughts exactly in the first place.
Curious to see the boy's reaction, Namie spared some concentration on her work to listen to the dialogue on the other side of the shelves.
His reaction after a moment of silence, however, was more calm than she had expected.
"......If that's what Izaya-san thinks, that's fine...I will do what I want to do anyway."
"Which is? Revenge on the Slashers? Or wiping out Dollars?"
"After what Izaya-san has told me, it is likely going to be both."
"Admirable resolve."
Izaya nodded in utmost satisfaction, clapped his hands together and rose.
Like an actor in a play he did a half-pirouette on his feet and spoke in a voice loud and clear.
"I see! To help you towards that end, I will be very happy to enlighten you with the truth among the truths, and the hopelessness called reality. This is a supreme example of three mutually distinct beings coming together in one under certain conditions!"
"......?"
Having no idea what Izaya had in store for him, Masaomi could only remain silent for a different reason than before.
"Speaking of which, how are things on Mikado-kun's side?"
The name of his childhood friend came up as if threatening to capture him in his state of confusion.
It was uncalled for.
Way too uncalled for, in fact.
"Huh......?"
"Remember? The one you introduced to me last spring, your friend Ryuugamine Mikado?"
"Why did you bring him up?"
"No particular reason. I was just thinking...wouldn't he be worried about you if he saw you like this?"
Izaya said all of this as if it were small talk. It was getting on Masaomi's nerves, making it easy for Izaya to take over -
The silence was broken at last.
"How on earth does this have anything to do with him?! I never said a word to him about the Yellow Turbans. He's still himself, kind of like a kid but optimistic...he's enjoying every day of his life, unlike me."
"Huh, is that so? Are you jealous that he's always been able to enjoy his life in peace?"
"I said this had nothing to do with him......"
He had been waiting for that sentence to come up.
Masaomi was visibly starting to waver.
Izaya was not about to let go of him; instead, he sank his teeth in.
"What if it does?"
"Huh?"
"Ah, nothing. I see. Mikado-kun is pretty optimistic about life, and apparently enjoying it very much...despite the fact that he's the reason of this miserable state you're in."
"Wait, what are you talking about...Izaya-san?"
Masaomi's intuition had already formed an answer to his own question.
Yet he still had to hear it from Izaya to finally confirm his fears.
At the same time his heart roared.
- Don't say it.
- Please, don't say anything.
Izaya, who saw right through Masaomi's feelings from the minute changes in his expression -
- stomped on Masaomi's wish like a cell phone anyway for the simple reason that he was Orihara Izaya after all.
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."
He wore the same ruthless smile as he did when he used to provide Masaomi with information on Blue Square.
"The leader of Dollars - is your bestest, bestest friend......Ryuugamine Mikado-kun."
"Though now...it would seem like you're the only one who's been under the impression that you two are friends."