The boy and girl looked up from their books and raised voices of protest.
“We do, too, have things to do! I’ve got seven more manga on my slate by the end of the day!”
“And I’m watching four late-night anime programs!”
“Exactly! You have nothing better to do!” Togusa snapped, hoping to silence them, but the other two only pouted and sniped back:
“Oh yeah? Well, when you’re not out collecting rent, you’re pretty much a jobless freeloader too, Togusacchi.”
“Yeah, what she said.”
“No, I’m not! I’m cleaning empty apartments and sweeping halls and all sorts of stuff, you idiots!”
“But your sister said that she was handling those jobs,” said Karisawa.
Togusa’s rebuttal caught in his throat.
“And I heard your brother takes care of the business and legal stuff.”
“W-well, that’s not… I mean…I’m around in case trouble ever arises…,” Togusa mumbled unconvincingly.
Just then, he was saved by the sound of his cell phone text notification. A brief Ruri Hijiribe ringtone played, which he faithfully listened to through to the end before he looked at the message.
“I’m too busy catching up on all my messages, you guys. Stop interrupting me.”
“What? You started this by interrupting our reading!”
“And you claimed to be busy, yet you sat there listening to the whole ringtone.”
Togusa reacted to this totally fair criticism by shaking his head in a you just don’t get it gesture and said, “As if I could pause Ruri in the middle of her song, fool.”
Normally, Saburo Togusa’s role in the group was to look down on Yumasaki and Karisawa for their overt otaku tendencies—but when it came to his car and Ruri Hijiribe, he displayed an even greater tenacity than they did. If there was anything all three of them would be interested in buying, it would have to be the CD singles of the anime theme songs sung by Ruri.
As it happened, the message Togusa just received involved Ruri Hijiribe as well, so he got into the right frame of mind before perusing the text.
“Wow… Oh man… I wonder if Ruri likes Scottish folds…”
It was a periodical e-mail newsletter from her official fan club. Togusa read through a bit more of the article, then turned to the pair with the kind of blissful expression that he never wore otherwise.
“Whoa…they’re gonna reprint her photo album! Man, I gotta get a copy of that, too!”
“…Are you going to buy another copy each time they print more, Togusa?” Yumasaki asked hesitantly.
“? Why wouldn’t I? You guys always buy two copies of manga, right?”
“Well, sure, one for posterity.”
“You’d have to be a real freak to buy another copy for every printing, though.”
“And you get super-pissed whenever your car gets scratched. You’re way more high maintenance than we are, Togusacchi.”
Togusa ignored his friends in the backseat, closed the e-mail, and started up the phone’s browser. Once there, he accessed the special Ruri Hijiribe community within the Dollars’ group, “Möbius Bandage.”
Right after her relationship with Yuuhei Hanejima went public, the community was in an uproar. They turned on the idol they’d worshipped, calling her a “traitor” and “used goods,” and demanded their money back. They loathed and raged against Yuuhei, while others just egged them on for kicks. Togusa was one of the few who never let his fandom waver, despite the shock. He wasn’t one of the levelheaded types who could always remember that an idol was nothing more than a false image, though; he trembled with envy but was able to tell himself, That perfect human being, Yuuhei Hanejima, is a far better man to make Ruri happy than me. Dammit if they don’t belong together! Thus, he weathered the online storms and worked to stabilize the community.
Through all of that, Togusa had become one of the senior members of the fan club. He scrolled through the article comments in silence, enjoying the trading of opinions—until he happened across one statement that put a scowl on his face.
“That asshole’s still around?”
“What’s the matter?” Yumasaki asked, surprised by the sudden change of attitude.
“Oh…it’s just this insider kinda guy who’s been hanging around.”
“Insider?”
“Yeah. Today he’s posting, asking if anyone’s interested in Ruri Hijiribe’s secrets. Apparently, he’s got some secret photo or something—the guy’s always going on about stuff like that. His username’s Sacrificial Boy. What a weirdo,” Togusa fumed.
“Well, you sound outraged, but I bet you’re secretly curious, huh? You wanna know Ruri Hijiribe’s naughty secrets?” Karisawa teased.
“Don’t you dare talk about her that way. You will show Ruri respect while in my car,” Togusa demanded with all seriousness.
The other two just looked annoyed. “Ugh, come on, man. You weren’t even that obsessed with her when she was just starting out.”
“I was young back then. I failed to fully understand her many charms.”
“Oh man, now he’s acting even worse. What should we do, Yumacchi?” Karisawa wondered.
Yumasaki mulled it over for a few moments. “I guess there are people like that in the voice actor fan community, too. Like the honorable Kamijou in Index. He was just some guy at the start, but now I find it difficult not to show some kind of respect.”
“Oh yeah. That makes sense to me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you’d better not be comparing Ruri to some stupid manga character,” Togusa warned, a vein throbbing at his temple, but he sensed that they were not going to see eye to eye on this and returned to the conversation in the article.
Yumasaki and Karisawa stared at the back of the driver’s seat, then leaned closer together to whisper, “By the way…wasn’t there that rumor about Ruri Hijiribe having a stalker?”
“Another rumor says it’s someone in the Dollars.”
“…That’s right. Even in our web group, everyone’s going crazy trying to ascertain the truth of the matter,” said Togusa, who had overheard every word of their conversation. He exhaled hugely, then stared forward with murder in his eyes. “If I ever find him, I’ll drive this car right into his house and over his bed…”
Yumasaki was stunned but couldn’t tell if it was meant to be a joke or not.
“Well, uh…if you do that, please save it for a time when we’re not in the backseat.”
Apartment building rooftop, Ikebukuro
“Oh, it’s you, Mom. Oh yeah? He’s already back?”
They had to pause their conversation so that Aoba could take a sudden phone call. He seemed to be talking to his mother about some brother of his.
I probably shouldn’t interrupt, Mikado thought. He waved good-bye, then turned to leave the rooftop.
“Oh, hang on, Mom… Mikado, I wanted to say…”
“We can continue this tomorrow. Go back to your phone call.”
“Err…sorry. I’ll text you later,” Aoba said, bowing.
Mikado resumed his bid for the door.
“Heya.” “Nice work today.” “Night.”
“Good night, guys,” Mikado said to the menacing young men…
…still wearing that transparent smile, the kind that one gave to longtime friends.
Mikado descended the building and exited to the street, where he noticed two motorcycles parked out front. The riders seemed to be in an argument, so he started walking well around them to avoid getting involved.
“…you were doing? Huh?”
“That’s none of your busi…”
From what he could hear as he passed, it sounded like your typical argument. Mikado side-eyed the two men along the way.
One was wearing a flashy leather jacket with a spine printed on the back, while the other was dressed in a black suit, which seemed out of place on a motorcycle. He had some kind of metal bracelet on, but it was har
d to tell the fine details.
Probably just a quarrel between different biker gangs. Though it was rare for them to be in Ikebukuro to begin with, the sight reminded Mikado of the battle with Toramaru two months ago…
And so he scampered away from the building, his expression just a bit mournful.
Near Kawagoe Highway, Shinra’s apartment
“Mewww.”
The cry of the kitten brought some much-needed warmth to the room.
The cast assembled in the space was far from peaceful by definition: Ikebukuro’s fighting puppet, a black market doctor, two huge celebrities whose relationship was subject to media coverage, a girl with a terrible secret, and a headless dullahan.
But a cat has no understanding of the meaning of these things, and thus, it freely brought comfort to the scene. It had jumped down off Shizuo’s head, had wandered around the apartment, and was now purring happily atop Anri’s thighs.
“…So, where were we?” Shizuo asked.
“We were talking about the Dollars,” said his brother.
“Oh, right. I couldn’t really think of anyone who knows about the Dollars, but I knew Celty was way deeper in the group than me, so I figured coming here was the best option,” he explained.
Shinra shook his head in disbelief. “And that’s why you brought Kasuka and Ruri Hijiribe over here? How cruel! You could have at least given us a warning first!”
“Huh? Well, I could see the lights were on from a distance. So I realized you guys were probably home and came over…”
“…I’m sorry. I hope we’re not intruding,” said Ruri, who was shrinking in her seat.
Shinra vigorously shook his head. “Not at all! If anything, it’s the opposite! Celty and I are fans of both Yuuhei Hanejima and Ruri Hijiribe, as a matter of fact! I would have preferred to know in advance so we could prepare a roast turkey and a cheesecake and whatever else!”
“Uh…thank you… And you were a huge help to me, er…back then.”
“Hmm?” Shizuo wondered, looking back and forth at Shinra and Ruri. “You two know each other?”
Ruri was mumbling, unable to clearly explain, so Shinra stepped in and offered, “She was terribly hurt a while ago. Yuuhei was the one who found her, and he brought her to me for treatment.”
“Oh, right, I do remember introducing you to Shinra around early spring…but why Shinra instead of a regular doctor?” Shizuo wondered.
In fact, it was he who had given Ruri Hijiribe her terrible injury, but since he didn’t know that, explaining the situation would require revealing that she was the serial killer Hollywood.
Ruri was at such a loss to provide an answer that she was considering getting down on her hands and knees to confess the entire truth—when Yuuhei answered for her.
“There’s a monster in show business…”
“Ah, gotcha. One of those things. That makes sense, then,” Shizuo said, folding his arms, though it wasn’t clear how he interpreted the statement. “So anyway, that’s the story. You know anyone who might have the scoop on the Dollars’ insider info? Also, take this cat off my hands.”
“Hmm, that’s a difficult task. Who would know stuff like that? And the cat will depend entirely on Celty’s opinion.”
While Shizuo and Shinra hashed it out, each of the women in the apartment was plagued by her own particular demons.
Celty Sturluson.
Anri Sonohara.
Ruri Hijiribe.
Each of these women was considered “alien” by the standards of modern society.
Celty was a dullahan and not human to begin with, while Anri housed the cursed blade Saika within her body, and Ruri inherited inhuman blood.
The instant Ruri came through the door, Celty could sense something. She knew Ruri Hijiribe, of course—both she and Shinra liked the popular actress. That should have been their first meeting, but she was immediately possessed with a certain conviction.
I’ve…met her before?
The first piece of evidence was the way her eyes bulged briefly when she first saw Celty. It wasn’t the same kind of surprise that people usually had when they saw the Headless Rider.
The other evidence was the extremely rare sensation of the inhuman that Celty picked up in Ikebukuro only once in a blue moon.
In fact, this woman felt uniquely both human and alien—a combination that Celty recalled once ferrying as “cargo.”
No, uh, wait.
I remember the woman hiding her face with sunglasses and a hat, but…but then she came back as an impostor dullahan to save me from trouble…
Was that actually Ruri Hijiribe, the girlfriend of Shizuo’s brother?
…
What in the world?
…
I mean, really, what in the world?!
She sat down on the couch, trying as best she could to act calm while holding down the waves of confusion.
Meanwhile, Ruri was seated next to Yuuhei at the dinner table, grappling with complex feelings of her own about Celty.
What should I do? I didn’t realize the Headless Rider was at this doctor’s place. I wonder if she knows that I was a “customer” here that one time…
She felt guilty about the idea of hiding information but didn’t know how to explain, either. So she focused on Shizuo and Shinra’s conversation as a means of distracting herself from the panic.
As for Anri Sonohara, who didn’t know anything about the connection between the other two, she had arrived at the conclusion that Ruri didn’t seem to be entirely human through different means.
The instant she saw Shizuo, the voices of the cursed blade within her body swelled. She pushed them through to the other side of the picture frame so that they stopped bothering her, but as soon as Ruri Hijiribe approached, the voices took a sudden turn.
Confusion.
Saika was supposed to love all human beings equally, but the voices of love temporarily hushed and began to whisper among themselves.
“Is she a person? Or a monster? Do we love her? Or not? Is she human?” went the unanswered questions, ringing in Anri’s mind.
What does this mean? Is Ruri Hijiribe…not human?
Is Celty aware of this…?
The three women sat back and observed, each harboring her own doubts and questions.
As the third-wheel between the other two, Anri watched Celty and Ruri closely; they seemed a bit stiff and awkward, which lent credence to her suspicion that they knew each other somehow.
She was going to sit back and blend into the scenery—except that Dokusonmaru had other ideas. He stood up in her lap, stretched, and started to climb up her uniform shirt with his little paws.
“Eek!”
He quickly got up to her chest, where his belly pressed against her ample cushioning as his back legs scrabbled in thin air.
The sight of the kitten scrambling on Anri’s chest was both cute and somewhat erotic, but given that the men in the apartment were the older Shizuo, the dedicated Shinra, and the stone-faced Yuuhei, there was no particular excitement from them. Dokusonmaru’s adorable cries continued unanswered.
But something about the scene caught Shizuo’s attention when he heard Anri shriek, jogging his mind.
* * *
“Oh, right, that’s right. There’s that other guy who often hangs out with that girl over there. You know, he showed up to the hot-pot party. Ryuugasaki…no, Ryuugamine?”
“Huh? Oh, you mean Mikado Ryuugamine.”
“That’s the one,” Shizuo said. “When all that fighting was going on during Golden Week, I told that Ryuugamine guy I was quitting the Dollars…”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
Huh?
Shinra, Celty, and Anri all had the same question.
Was it possible this had something to do with the matter the three of them had just discussed—that of Mikado’s strange behavior?
“This is the first I’m hearing that you quit the Dollars… Why?” Celty asked
him.
Shizuo shrugged, a bit taken aback by their surprise, and began to explain his decision.
“Well, I was feeling like it was getting to be too much trouble. Or maybe I should say that I didn’t wanna be involved with folks who would kidnap girls. But I didn’t really know how to actually quit, so I figured I should probably just tell someone. He happened to be in the park at that moment, so I told him I was quitting the Dollars. And that was that.”
Celty considered this information.
That must have been a shock to Mikado to learn that he was leaving. It’s a shock when anyone quits, but Shizuo was a particularly big name within the Dollars. Did the impact of that make him start acting weird…?
That seemed a little too simplistic and dramatic, so she shelved the idea. If that was going to upset him, he would have acted depressed, if anything. It didn’t seem like the sort of shock that would actually make him more cheery.
“If I run across him, I’ll make sure to ask. Mikado’s still a kid, so I don’t really want to drag him into our problems.”
“Yeah, true. Don’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable,” Shizuo told her, then lifted up the teacup on the table to his lips, right as Shinra said the most inconsiderate thing possible, given the circumstances.
“I happen to think asking Izaya would be the quickest route. Why don’t we come clean, reconcile, and seek his help?”
There was a spectacular cracking sound, and the pieces of the teacup fell from Shizuo’s hand onto the ground. Tea stained his wrist and knees, and a number of veins bulged out on his face.
“…Sorry, Celty. I’ll pay you back.”
“Huh? Why are you apologizing to Celty and not to mee-gee-gee-gee- gee—?”
Shizuo lifted Shinra up by the base of his neck toward the ceiling.
“There’s no ‘reconciling’…because I’ve never been friends with that fleabrain in the first place!”
“Settle down, Brother,” Yuuhei said.
“…All right. Sorry,” the elder brother said, lowering the doctor before he made good on his threat to throw the man out the window.
Durarara!!, Vol. 8 Page 7
