Vorona, who had no illusions about being considerate, said, “There is a question. The period of existence of the Yellow Scarves easily exceeds one millennium ago by Gregorian calendar. I cannot believe its leader currently exists in modern society. Or does the boy bear a similarity to folklore beings such as the Headless Rider?”
“…Lady, the way you talk is kind of mysterious and sexy.”
The Headless Rider, huh? Speaking of which, I wonder how the Headless Rider knows Mikado. All that asshole Izaya would say was, “Why don’t you ask Mikado yourself?”
Masaomi started to grind his teeth at the memory of that hateful face but thought better of saying his name when he remembered that someone next to him would likely explode with rage on a different level if he were to hear it.
Geez, man. I hate to think of things in these terms, but if I can just wrap things up with Shizuo Heiwajima first, it’ll make it a lot easier for me to get to the other stuff, mentally speaking.
…
Actually, forget about Shizuo, what should I say if I run into Anri or Mikado?
Masaomi heaved a deep sigh and then heard…
“There is a warning. Walk facing forward and hear closely,” Vorona murmured, her voice sharp. Masaomi held his breath.
“?” “…?” “What is it?”
They all turned to her in confusion, and she hissed, “Please face forward.”
While her strange version of Japanese had sounded goofy before, Masaomi felt his skin prickle at the suddenly serious tone of her voice.
“We are being trailed. Distance is slowly closing. Hostility is unknown, but caution is required.
“…I suspect the follower is not alone.”
Shinra’s apartment
“Anyway, I’m going to tour a bit of the area around Yuuhei’s apartment, followed by Ruri’s, just in case. She might be staying with Yuuhei now, but the stalker could break into her apartment while she’s away.”
Celty reached for the front door, helmet in place.
“…That’s fine, but I’m worried about something.”
“What is it?” she asked, tilting the helmet.
“If you’re prowling around outside of the apartment…,” Shinra hesitantly admitted, “won’t the cops think…you’re the stalker…?”
Just minutes after that typical conversation ended and Celty had left, the doorbell rang, and Shinra turned to the door with suspicion.
After such a brief interval, he would normally assume it was Celty coming back for something she forgot, but she’d taken the spare key when she left. Ever since the incident with Aoba, Shinra began locking the door even when he was home, and Celty slipped the spare key into the sleeve of her shadow-made riding suit.
Given that they’d just been discussing the stalker, Shinra headed to the door with some trepidation. On the other side of the peephole was a man wearing a delivery company uniform.
Shinra’s apartment was deluxe, but the building was fairly old, and it still didn’t have a unified entrance or delivery box for the purposes of tenant security.
“Delivery!” said a voice on the other side. Shinra opened the door, relieved.
He left the chain on, just in case. He was going to sign the form and have the man leave the package outside.
“Hang on, I’ll get my stamp…”
Shinra reached into the pocket of his white coat when—
At that very moment, an ugly piece of metal squeezed through the gap.
It was the heavy black shape of a large chain cutter.
By the time Shinra noticed it, he was too late.
It snapped through the metal chain, setting the loose ends free.
“…”
The door slowly opened all the way, revealing the grinning delivery worker.
“I’m guessing…you’re not a deliveryman,” Shinra quipped in a cold sweat.
The man twirled and contorted, throwing himself into a high kick at the side of Shinra’s head.
Shinra felt his brain jolt against his skull and veins on his face snap.
Oh, that was…bad…
It’s like being slapped…by…Shizuo…
I’m gonna pass………
Wait, why is he gearing up? Is he going for…another…one…?
Am…am I going…to………die?
His consciousness stretched, pulling everything into slow motion, as the man dressed as a delivery worker drove another kick into Shinra’s body.
Cel………ty.
Let’s see, Yuuhei’s apartment should be right around…here.
Celty was taking a route to her destination using narrow roads and back alleys to cut down on the likelihood of drawing her nemesis’s attention.
When she came to a section that featured a number of similar buildings all in a row, she took out her phone to get an accurate location.
She had loaded up the navigation screen and was looking for Yuuhei’s address when the screen shifted and a ringtone played.
Celty looked at the displayed number and paused before she hit the answer button.
Huh? It’s from Mikado. Why now?
Had he perhaps realized that Anri was worrying about him? Did Mikado learn that she had come to talk to Celty and thus tried to make contact for his own advice?
That was her reason for hesitating initially, but then another thought occurred to her.
Huh…? But why is he calling rather than texting?
If he was calling her, knowing that she couldn’t speak back, perhaps it was an emergency. She quickly hit the call button and pressed the phone to her helmet.
“Hello? Is that you, Celty?”
Mikado’s voice echoed inside the helmet, making it loud and clear for Celty’s mysterious sense of hearing.
“If you can hear me, tap the mic on your phone!”
Celty tapped next to the little mic hole.
Mikado replied with a mixture of relief and haste, “That’s good! I’m going to continue talking under the assumption that you can hear me! Are you at your apartment now?!”
What could it be? Does he want to come over to talk about something?
Very quickly, she realized that could not be the case. The level of anxiety and distress in his voice suggested something more important than something that simple.
“If you’re away from home at the moment, go back immediately!”
“?”
“I’m not worried about your safety…but Shinra could be in trouble!”
Night, Ikebukuro
“…Ah, well. There, you see?”
The young man in the black coat ended the phone call report he’d received and smirked to himself. “Look at that mess. All over some stupid gang squabble that even the yakuza wouldn’t bother with. I feel for Shinra.”
He got to his feet, chair creaking, and looked at the scenery out the window.
It was the top floor of a fancy apartment building close to Ikebukuro Station.
He gazed out at the activity around the station, leering with the excitement of a child facing a grand feast, and he murmured to himself:
“They’re all helpless without me around.”
Chat room
Kid: Seems a bit quiet in here tonight.
Sharo: It feels like only the new people are here.
Chrome: Maybe we’ve just been talking in here for so long that the old-timers feel awkward about joining in.
Sharo: You’re probably overthinking it.
Sharo: Bacura’s not showing up today, right?
Saki: That’s right. He’s busy.
Kid: I see. I can only participate on my phone, so forgive the slow typing.
Sharo: Whoa, seriously?
Sharo: You chat crazy fast for being on a phone. Major respect.
Saki: That’s amazing.
Kid: You’re giving me too much credit.
Sharo: Does anyone have anything interesting to talk about? I’m so bored every single day. I’m on my feet all day, and my sister bugs me about taking the job serious
ly. She sure is bossy for being flat.
Saki: Breast size has nothing to do with that.
Kid: That would be sexual harassment.
Chrome: I happen to have an interesting topic.
Sharo: Wait, lol, I don’t wanna get sued over this, lmao. Anyway, if my sister saw this, she’d split my head open for sure.
Kid: What kind of topic?
Sharo: Hmm? Oh, you got something to share, Chrome?
Chrome: It’s about Ruri Hijiribe’s stalker… Apparently, the culprit is within the Dollars after all. I heard this from a friend, though, so I can’t vouch for its accuracy.
Chrome: Oh, and this is just between us. Do not repost this info on any Ruri Hijiribe fan club boards, please.
Kid: I understand.
Saki: My lips are sealed.
Sharo: Well, either way, this chat room will show up on Internet searches, right?
Kanra has entered the chat.
Kanra: Heya! It’s everyone’s favorite idol sweetheart Kanra, back in glorious action!
Kanra: What, what, what? Everyone abruptly stopped talking a few minutes ago.
Kanra: Could it be that you’re all engaging in some hot orgy in private mode?!
Kanra: Eek! That’s sexual harassment, you guys!
Kanra: Wait. What, what? These are all people whose names I don’t recognize.
.
.
.
Chapter 4: Running Lost @ Stalkers
Frivolous.
It should have been a frivolous incident.
Stalking incidents sometimes lead to tragedy, ending in murders or abductions.
They should never be described as “frivolous,” and yet…
Stalking of celebrities is a constant fact, and if the culprit were caught before trying to act on Ruri Hijiribe, it would all be over with.
A part of Celty clung to this idea.
Perhaps she’d been naive in some way.
Perhaps she’d been careless.
She was used to being chased around by yakuza, motorcycles gangs, even the police—and yesterday she’d had to deal with a helicopter and submachine guns.
So there was a part of her that came to underestimate the gravity of a stalking situation.
If only she’d learned about it just after Haruna Niekawa had attacked Anri Sonohara.
If only it’d been after she’d seen a news report on a serious stalking.
If she’d been able to keep in mind the alarming nature of a stalker beforehand…
She considered a number of different things she could have done, but it was too late to overturn any result that had already happened.
And the “result,” in terms of how it affected Celty…
…was bloodied on the floor, panting weakly.
Shin…ra?
When she got back home and opened the front door, she could scarcely believe the sight before her.
He was so proud of his white coat, the item of clothing that he claimed “formed the perfect contrast with your black!”
There were times that his brilliant white coat got splattered with a bit of blood—but in this case, Shinra’s coat was clearly stained in his own as he lay in the hallway.
“”
She tried to scream.
She tried to shout Shinra’s name.
But without a head, Celty couldn’t vibrate the air to produce those sounds. The most she could do was rush to his side and gently lift him up.
He noticed her presence but was only able to move his eyeballs in her direction.
“…a…ah…C…el…ty?”
Blood was flowing from his head and mouth. He obviously shouldn’t be talking.
And yet—Shinra still smiled.
He smiled with total relief upon seeing her face.
Or perhaps it wasn’t for his own satisfaction but an attempt to comfort her, recognizing her obvious shock and distress.
“It’s all right… This isn’t life-threatening…I think…but…I’ve broken…a few bones… I’ve been hit by Shizuo before, so I figured I could handle some punishment…but he just kept…kicking and…kicking…and…”
“Stop talking! I’ll call an ambulance!”
“No, no…not an…ambu…lance… Besides, how will you…call it?”
—!
Of course. She couldn’t speak over the phone. And she couldn’t force Shinra to make the call. But if she just called and had it on mute, couldn’t they trace the location and come for him? And she felt like she’d heard about people unable to speak, sending in faxes for help.
Paper! Where’s the paper? Oh, maybe I can turn my shadow into… No, I can’t! Oh, Shinra… Don’t die, Shinra! Don’t leave me all alone here! she thought, turning desperate.
Shinra’s eyelids drooped as he mumbled, “Call Dad…or maybe…Emilia…”
He used what strength he had left to open his eyes again, looked at Celty’s helmet, and beamed.
“Celty…that beautiful heart of yours is going to waste. You need…to…smile…more…”
And with that, he blacked out.
Stop it! Stop acting like you’re about to die!
She enveloped his body in shadow and gently lifted it into the air. Then she leaped over the side of the stairs, spreading out a fine spiderweb that allowed her to float down softly to the ground.
Down in the parking lot, Shooter gave a little whin
ny, just as alarmed as Celty by Shinra’s state. She attached Shinra to Shooter with shadow, then transformed Shooter’s body the way she had when transporting the snake the other day.
Taking great care not to jostle Shinra’s body, she assembled a fixture like those on soba noodle delivery motorcycles for hauling cargo and headed out as quickly as was safe.
Dammit, why…why?! How stupid am I?! How could I be so careless about a stalker?! I’m…I’m so helpless! I’ve been spending all my time with a doctor…and I can’t do a single bit of emergency aid to treat him! What have I been doing…? What have I been watching him do all along…?!
Without the face of a culprit to focus on, all of Celty’s anger was forced at herself as she raced through the night.
But while regret and anger ruled her emotions, she prayed the entire time for Shinra’s safety.
Ikebukuro
Kisuke Adabashi watched the black motorcycle as it raced past him and hissed his strange laughter: “Shehhh, shehhh.”
He leisurely took out his cell phone and sent a message to someone, then indulged in fantasy with a satisfied look on his face, as if to suggest that was the end of his job.
His trek stimulated the soles of his feet, supporting one crystal-clear vision within his mind’s eye.
A vision of collapse.
He desired for the “illusion” of Ruri Hijiribe to crumble into nothing within his mind.
Within his sight.
On the surface of his skin.
Under his feet.
Between his nails.
Atop his tongue.
Beyond his eardrums.
Along with the rhythm of his soul’s pulse.
Collapse.
Every last element that made up Ruri Hijiribe, crumbling into dust and becoming part of him. The absurd vision and the swell of desire for it from the very base of his being brought him an undeniable bliss.
Kisuke Adabashi loved Ruri Hijiribe.
But perhaps worshipped was a better word than loved.
Kisuke had lived a comfortable life, thanks to being born the son of a life insurance company executive. But a violent nature had caused others to shun him from a very young age.
Durarara!!, Vol. 8 Page 13
