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cinnamonest · 3 years

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Yandere Profile - Izaya Orihara (Durarara!!)

I really liked doing this one ngl. I love me some sadists. I’m also pretty much done with Akechi, I just need to proofread so it’ll be up either tonight or tomorrow

TWs: yandere, mentions of self-harm/self-starvation as an act of rebellion, stalking, mentions of corporeal punishment, manipulation, n/s/f/w themes/mentions, murder, emotional sadism, blackmail and threats, Izaya being the way he is

TWs (below cut): noncon, sexual sadism, impact pain, spanking, bondage, cucking, anal, murder, mentions of trafficking

================================================ Severity Scale

Intelligence/Perceptiveness: 8.5 Brutality: 7.5 Physical capability: 9 Mental/emotional instability: 5 Restrictiveness: 7 Sexual sadism: 8 Stubbornness: 9

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

Perhaps surprisingly, a "background" type. As much as he loves messing with others and causing chaos, ultimately he does everything he does behind a sort of social smoke screen, a distance and anonymity he puts between himself and the people whose lives he involves himself with, save for a few. Part of it is protection, not wanting you to get wrapped up in his life and potentially endanger you, but also because frankly, he doesn't really know how to interact with someone he wants to like him. Most of his interactions and even interpersonal relationships are those in which he's tolerated at best and subjects others to suffer from some of the less pleasant aspects of his personality. He's well aware that he's not well-liked. Namie practically loathes him, Shizuo certainly does, his sisters show distaste for him, and even Shinra, the first person he contacted when he was stabbed, practically dismissed him. He canonically has shown a few moments of slight insecurity on the matter when he realizes how lacking he is in people who actually want to spend time with him.

This is the first time he has someone where he truly, desperately wants them to like him, rather than tolerate him or maintain the view most people have of him as a troublemaker, but a necessary one. He realizes that the image he's always projected and the character or persona he's constructed might not be the best for attracting a partner. He doesn't know what to do to rectify this problem, and eventually, he'll settle for trying to force you to accept his personality anyway, but that conclusion takes a while.

As such, for quite some time, he settles for watching. Cameras, phone bugs, a wide network of sources to keep track of your life, although his connections are often confused as to why he wants details on the mundane life of some woman. He's rather obsessive, but very lucid. He's yet another yan who is very well aware that what he's doing is kinda fucked up and definitely unhealthy, he knows its an obsession and a violation of privacy, but since when has he ever cared for the morality of things? He's aware, but it just doesn't bother him all that much. Hell, even Namie is well aware of it all and he doesn't particularly care or try to hide it from her. She figures it out after seeing him watching the same girl through video cameras all day, she tells him he's a fucked up freak and, well, he's inclined to agree. In his spare time, he likes to follow you in person, but he's a busy man and can't afford to do so all the time. Still, there's something comforting about sitting in the same little cafes as you, a few tables away, knowing you're oblivious to his presence.

If you end up in the Dollars and in the chat, he'll certainly try to "befriend" you there. He's most comfortable behind a screen where he can create a false persona, one that's likeable and nice, where he doesn't automatically fall into his natural habit of being snide and mocking (which, really, he can't stop in real life even when he tries -- it's just what comes naturally). Definitely white knights/simps for you in the chat if given the opportunity, even enduring the mockery and confusion in private messages from those who know who he really is.

Darling is most likely either someone he met in a one-time encounter, or someone he was able to observe for a while without truly interacting with them. Perhaps someone who fell for one of his online schemes, perhaps a girl he went to high school with but never even spoke to. Or, really, while it may not seem like him at first, I feel like he's actually one of the types to fall for a complete stranger he's either only ever seen from a distance or interacted with once -- such as a cashier or a waitress who certainly doesn't remember him at all and is essentially unaware he exists. Something, an aura, a word, a face or a voice, strikes him as different. Different from other people in some way, perhaps, most likely, you said something, responded to some vague line of his usual antics of weirding people out, in such a way that was entirely different from the usual reaction, something he wouldn't have expected or predicted -- that difference draws him in.

He very lucid and aware -- he's spiraling into obsession, he knows it's happening, and he can't stop it even if he tried. He's entirely self aware of it, likely sighs to himself and mutters with a sad laugh about what a creep and pervert he is every time he scans his recordings of the cameras in your room to catch you changing or masturbating. How everyone would think even less of him -- if such a thing is possible -- if they had any idea he was such a creepy stalker.

Now, post kidnapping and into your "daily" life. Were you ever given the "boys are mean to you because they like you" thing? Yeah... that. Again, it's a natural defense mechanism, he doesn't know how to interact any differently, and he naturally reacts in mocking ways to avoid showing any vulnerability. This may result in you being afraid of or disliking him, and as much as he doesn't want that, he can't help it. Really, eventually he accepts it for what it is and essentially goes along with it. This is the way he is, and if you're going to be afraid of him, he might as well allow himself to get some sadistic pleasure out of that.

He's mean, really, in that indirect, condescending way of his. He thinks you're quite the idiot and will frequently set you up to remind you you are, makes fun of you for things you don't understand, talk down to you in that "aw, do you need help understanding?" sort of mockery that makes you so cutely infuriated. So basically, he starts off thinking perhaps he can make a good impression, but his natural sadistic tendencies take over, and he can accept that.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

He decides on it early, but will bide his time to carry it out. He's nothing if not a careful planner. He makes sure to have everything set and ready. Escape-proof his bedroom, install tethers and hooks into the bed and walls, get some more cameras and motion-sensing alerts, replace the windows with something that won't break, and mentally perfect his plans of how to make this work. He makes some shady purchases of less-than-legal substances, strong aphrodisiacs and sedatives, even truth serums and muscle relaxants normally only available to professionals and not the common people.

He's surprisingly direct in how he goes about it. Sure, he could get Celty or someone to get you, but he wants to do this part himself. He doesn't actually sneak up on you. He sends you a message -- it would help if he does have that established connection with you from the Dollars, or perhaps uses an anonymous contact method and uses blackmail -- and instructs you to meet him late at night in a quiet, secluded place of his choosing, likely a small park area. Once there, he'll approach you, noticing your timidness, which he expects, really, and actually takes the time to introduce himself, if he met you before in any way he asks if you remember him, which of course you don't, but he just wanted to see if there was any possibility he was important enough to have left any impression in your mind.

After that, when you inevitably ask him what's going on, he's straightforward, he smiles and tells you he's been stalking you and watching you for months, and that now that you were dumb enough to actually endanger yourself like this, it's proof to him that you're far too stupid to safely remain in society. Not that it matters anyway, since even if you were smart enough not to walk right into this trap, he says as he looks you in the eye and lowers his voice, he would kidnap you anyway. And he relishes the look of fear and panic that spreads on your face, slowly takes a step forward to watch you bolt. Which is fine, it would be no fun if you came willingly anyway. He can't afford to have you running back to the public right now though, when you're still equipped with a phone, so unfortunately this chase will have to be rather short -- you don't even make it but a hundred yards or so before you're tackled to the ground and quickly sedated. Knowing how to make chloroform is quite useful.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape?

He ain't paying Namie for nothing, you know, and there's not much the woman won't do for some cash. She canonically does some pretty nasty shit for Izaya and his schemes, so helping keep tabs on some girl? Easy. He'll have her give him little reports throughout the day, a text or two letting him know all is well whenever he's out and can't be at his apartment. Sure, she thinks he's a sick fuck for it, but you got her a raise, so she's pretty cool with it. Don't expect any sympathy or help on her end.

He's got fairly high tech security and a variety of cameras that will keep track of you, not to mention connections virtually everywhere that can find and locate any person in an hour tops. He gets you a sort of bracelet, one that keeps track of your heart rate and sleeping and the like.

However, really more than any yandere I've covered in the past, he 1000000% loves to give you fake, staged opportunities to run. Unlike most who do this, it's not a test of your love or anything - he wants you to bolt. He loves the cat and mouse game, and you keep getting better and better every time, managing to hide longer and longer, but he's fully confident that you'll never win. This game is one of the things he loves most, and he absolutely gets off to it, which we'll cover more below. And come on, physically too, have you seen the agility and speeds he's capable of? You can never hope to outrun him or get anywhere he can't get to you.

He has locks, but not super high tech ones, ones that can be picked and fiddled with. Restraints, but not chains, leather ones that can be cut and pulled. Of course, he'll still know the moment you leave thanks to the cameras -- he has a balance of high and low tech security specifically so that you can escape, but you can't go far.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

Next to impossible. There's not too much to say on this, basically he's just incredibly perceptive by default, and it doesn't help that he has taken the time to learn your psychology specifically. He knows you better than you know yourself. He's no fool, not easily lied to and certainly not easily manipulated. It's a poor strategy for darling to attempt to take the lying route to get away, you're better off trying something else. He doesn't like lies either -- it's a quick way to get yourself punished, and he will always catch them.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

He's ok with some things. TV, internet? Sure, have it. Of course he'll prevent you from having any way to contact the outside world, but he sees no issue with you browsing - it helps keep you occupied and pacified when he's busy, too.He'll get you some things that you want, but don't get too demanding. He only makes so much money, you know. Don't get ahead of yourself and think he's one of those guys who will buy you anything you want for some pretense of affection, he's not that stupid.

As for trips outside, it's very rare. He might do so, but it would be in the long term, maybe half a year or so in at the least, if you've been good -- and he's not going to fall for changes in behavior that are so sudden and rapid that it's obvious you're just trying to get the opportunity to go outside. You have to be showing genuine progress. Even when you do, it's very controlled -- he determines where you'll go, how long you'll stay out, and you will talk to no one, he'll do all the talking, even ordering food. You'll hold his hand whenever you walk, too. Failure to abide by these rules will make sure you don't get the chance again for a while.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

Poor, poor darling. He's a puzzle. For the most part, he often doesn't have consistent rules -- they change. One day he'll tell you it's ok to do this or that, next time you do it he'll say he changed his mind and has to punish you now, and then tomorrow it'll go back to being allowed. You have to figure out what is off limits by trial and error, and it's mostly error. Random things that he's never seemed to have a problem with before, he'll suddenly decide he doesn't like at that particular moment and use it as an excuse to bend you over and beat your ass.

The only things he's fairly consistent on is 1) no escaping (although, really, he wants you to, but it's always something you'll get punished for), 2) no contacting anyone outside (this one he genuinely doesn't want you to do), 3) no messing with his work (this will very, very much piss him off), and 4) be a good, sweet, obedient pet (yes, he uses the word pet when giving the rule). He says sweet, but really, he likes your fire -- specifically because he loves breaking you. It wouldn't be fun if you were sweet and obedient to begin with, but he intends to get you there with time, keeping you in a balance of just being lenient enough so that you never quite lose that spark. The rules are just there to give him reasons to punish you when you break them like he hopes you will.

Eventually he'll probably make you do some chores, lazy bastard doesn't want to do anything himself, he has to go to work you know (even if his work is literally right there in his own home). And he's an asshole about that too -- he'll whine about how he's working when he's clearly just scrolling his phone, feet kicked up on the table while demanding you get this or that.

While we're on that, unfortunately for you, you get to see him all. Day. Long. He's gone to meet with people every now and then, but he's still around quite a bit. So even if you've been bad and are bound to the bed, he'll check up on you throughout the day. You'll be seeing a lot more of him than you would most yans. Lucky you, huh.

Nasty bastard's idea of punishment is almost always sexual. Hey, if he's going to fix your attitude, he might as well make it fun, right? He likes you too much to lock you away from him and isolate you, and he's not keen on starving you or ignoring you, so he goes straight for the physical, which he always gets some sick enjoyment out of.

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

This is something he has fun with. While he doesn't like the thought of you having anyone else close to you, he actually enjoys getting to deal with people in fun and creative ways. There's so many choices! Should he frame them for a crime? Arrange so they get hit by a bus? Rail you in front of them? Or perhaps just take the old fashioned route and make them bleed out in a back alley somewhere? Decisions, decisions.

But yes, getting rid of rivals or those who try to get between the two of you in any way is something he genuinely enjoys and treats as sort of a game. He likes the idea of there being someone to deal with... Makes things more fun that way. Unlike most yans, who are upset over you liking someone else, he kind of enjoys the notion. If you like them, it's that much more fun to watch your reactions when you watch them die, that much more fun to torture you when he describes how he killed them, that much more fun to force you to confess how he's done things to you they never did and never could do. It gives him more of a power rush to remind you that you're not theirs, you're his.

Basically, a toy that he has to work to keep is more fun to play with.

Bonus points if it's someone he's wrapped up with, namely a certain blonde bartender. God, what he wouldn't give to get one over like that on him.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

The easiest ways to get him mad that will be consistent is messing with his work, or trying to hurt yourself. If you decide to hurt him, it's more amusing than anything to watch your efforts, since you're far weaker than him and can't hope to accomplish anything with your bare hands, and can be easily disarmed should you be dumb enough to grab a kitchen knife or the like.

Most things he can handle or deal with quickly. Ignoring him? Ok, how would you like to starve? Saying you hate him? He just laughs, he can't blame you to be honest, but it's not like you hating him changes anything, you know. He gets irritated, sure, but his irritation is basically just an increase to his normal mockery.

You trying to hurt yourself as an act of rebellion, though, worries him - what if you went too far and seriously injured yourself or worse? He doesn't like such a thing because he can control and protect himself from you, but he has less power over what you do to yourself, and he doesn't like having to worry about that. So the house is relatively harm-proofed, and if you find a way, it'll be taken away. But also, his work is important, and considering the people he deals with, he does NOT want to make them unhappy - not just for his own sake, but anyone who found out about you might hurt you to hurt him, too. So if you, in some act of defiance, were to shred up papers or break his computer or mess with his work in some way, you'll genuinely make him mad, and it's a quick way to get yourself into more severe punishments. His anger is quick and he doesn't stay in that state long before reverting back to normal. It's narrowed eyes and a tch here or there, wrinkling his nose and snarling cruelties at you while he takes the anger out on you physically, and once he gets it out of his system, he'll go back to normal.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

He actually tends to separate himself from thought patterns like that. Bastard acts like a narcissist of course, but in the end, concepts like value and place are all relative, he thinks, there's no point thinking about such things. No one human is above or beneath the rest that way. His actions aren't about value or worth, the things he does and the way he acts towards you are all just a matter of power and strength, which luckily for him, he has more of that you. Power, strength, and intelligence are what matters, and while he knows he has more of those things, he doesn't really correlate them to or really care about the idea of "worth" or "position" in that sense, not as an abstract concept.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

He's one of a few that will ultimately settle for having you, even if you hate him. He'll hold out hope, but ultimately, the problem is that Izaya is an incredibly stubborn, selfish, and prideful man. What this means is that unlike most yans, he's entirely unwilling to change the way he behaves to potentially earn your affection. He won't show vulnerability except very rarely, and he won't change his ways of sadism and jeering condescension, even if it hurts you. He'd rather live with your hatred than change his ways. Even if you hate him, you'll still ultimately come to a mix of hatred and non-hatred, he knows psychology well enough to know how this whole thing goes. You depend on him for basic needs, he's your only real source of interaction, and your only source of comfort, and considering the only other person you ever even speak to is Namie, you'll be grateful for someone who at least likes you considering how cold she is. Even if you hate him half the time, he knows you can't hate him all the time -- you will inevitably come to feel something for him, even if that something is a forced sense of emotional connection. And even when you're saying you hate him, he knows how to make you retract and apologize -- anyone will do anything with enough pain.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

His lack of pretense of goodness. While in that first little while he considers trying to make a good impression, eventually he realizes that's a stupid idea. Why try to put on a false image of someone he's not? Especially to someone who he loves?

Most yanderes who are truly awful will put on an act of being a good person, most yanderes hide things like murder and stalking, most yanderes want you to believe they're a good person and want you to love them.

He's not like that. Well, he wants you to love him, but he'd rather you be horrified or repulsed by who he really is than in love with an act of who he's not. This is the person Izaya is, this is the person you'll be with for eternity - how you deal with that is up to you, but you're getting the real deal.

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

Massive pervert because he knows exactly how uncomfortable it makes you and he loves to see you squirm. Not really reserved at all, and constantly horny, to the point that it's exhausting because you reach a point where you just can't handle any more in one day. Says all sorts of lewd things just to see your face redden and listen to you stutter, makes lots of comments about your body while you're just trying to go about your tasks. Over-the-top touchy too, of course, always groping and grabbing, often calling you over to sit in his lap while he works, and in particular very much a cuddly person, really, always wanting to grab onto you and spoon you at night.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

Well, he'll get your "consent" one way or another, after all, he says with the most mocking and sarcastic tone you've ever heard, he would never want to do anything you weren't enthusiastically asking for.

And he knows exactly how to get that enthusiastic consent. How to make you beg. Your family, friends, surely there will be someone you're close to that he'll use against you. You should know better than to doubt his connections and capabilities, he can have your dearest friends stolen and sold off to who knows where, he can have them killed, he can have your dearest loved ones suffer unimaginable things.

But that won't happen if you beg him to fuck you. If you get down on your knees and tell him you need him.

See? He cares about consent a lot. He'll do anything to get it.

What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

Predator/prey

It ties back to your escapes. He loves nothing more than hunting you down and dragging you back home. Maybe it's some sort of primal caveman instinct, maybe it's a part of his personality, he doesn't know, doesn't care. It's like an animal hunting down prey, the game is what makes it fun, the chase. That narrow risk of you getting out of his sight and the thrill of finding you again. The fear in your eyes, the way you cower and look all around, the cuteness of how you thought you stood a chance. It all makes him unbearably horny and really gets him going. You probably won't even make it home, you'll just get bent over the nearest park bench or fucked against the brick wall of an alleyway.

Cucking

Honestly, he hopes you already have a boyfriend when he finds you.

Probably sounds incredibly strange given yandere norms, but really, nothing would be better than the absolute power rush he'd get from fucking you right in front of your pathetic little boyfriend or husband or whatever you have. Hell, he'll settle for your brother or father. Just getting to mark you as his in front of someone else, the power of stripping someone else of their possession of you, the feeling that he's won you rather than simply obtaining you. Just the knowledge that he's making you his when you were someone else's before is euphoric.

And he makes a show of it, too, should he find out you do have someone. Ties them up, tells them that if they don't watch, he'll kill them (he plans to anyway, but y'know). Makes you open your eyes and grabs you by the hair and forces you to look them in the eye before pulling you back towards him, turns his eyes to gaze at them while pressing his mouth into yours. Makes you cry and makes you confess out loud all the ways he's better, how you've never been fucked like this, how he's bigger than that guy, better than him, superior in every way, and how you love him and want him, not your pathetic excuse of a boyfriend. He whispers in your ear that if you say all of those things, he'll let him live (he won't). He hates to lie to you (he doesn't), but the look on your face when he slits his throat anyway, when you realize all those degrading confessions were for nothing is just really, really cute.

Breeding

This one is short, but it's a fear thing, a love of your little squeals and reactions. Really, he doesn't actually want you to get pregnant, but he loves the fact that you don't, either. He plays with the whole concept. If you say you love him, he says, he'll pull out. If you say you love him, you love his cock and it's all you ever need, then he'll consider not cumming inside of you. And you -- who should know better by now, who has already been through this before -- who, despite it never working, still has to cling to whatever hope you can have that this time he'll follow through, do just that. He's glad, and says ok, he'll pull out as promised... after cumming inside of you. Hey, he never specified when he'd pull out, don't give him that look.

Makes a show out of "accidentally" breaking condoms, maybe once or twice actually follows through on the promise to cum on your stomach only to scoop it up with his fingers and shove it inside. It's just cute, seeing how your squirm and cry and whine, the expression of fear and realization, the way your little eyes water.

D/S dynamic/humiliation/degradation

Definitely a sort of master/slave dynamic going on. He loves humiliating you in every conceivable way, and he loves power, why not combine those things? Early on he gives you some options... you can choose between wearing the skimpy maid dress all day, OR you can wear nothing. Your choice! Not like he'll complain either way. He does a lot like that, things that force you to take a humiliation in favor of avoiding a worse option. You want to eat? Then be a good little maid and make food for you both. You want to be allowed to go get water? Get on your knees and suck his cock so you have a real reason to be thirsty, or stay that way. You want to take a shower and get all that cum and sweat off? Either shower with him or stay dirty, see how much he cares.

He loves the idea of service, lazily leaning back on his phone or computer for work while making the occasional comment that you missed a spot or aren't doing something the right way among your daily chores.

And there's many, many more things to it all. Forcing you to wear plugs all day that make you shift and whimper, bonus points if it's got a tail. Forcing you to say the most degrading and humiliating things about yourself, call him Master, put on a show for him - do it all and you may just get some respite now and then, or get something you wanted.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

I'm actually gonna say he's a strong no on this one. He's another yan that would be super jealous of a kid and since he's highly self aware, he knows that about himself. Kids don't suit his lifestyle and would be a hazard if nothing else, and as said before, he doesn't need you to love him, so by no means does he see the potential emotional attachment and manipulation potential as worth the risk and trouble it would cause.

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

A better question might be what he doesn't use. He's a fan of all the more common ones, it mostly depends on the offense. If it's general misbehaviors and bad attitudes, he's definitely into spanking, probably invests in hard leather straps and crops just for that purpose. If it's you forgetting that you're his, talking about the outside world, things like that, it'll be something to do with your orgasms -- forcing them out of you until you can't take another, or possibly edging you and denying you for even days on end. If it's you trying to squeal and squirm over sex again, whining about cumming inside, well, he doesn't have to cum in your pussy, he can fuck your ass instead and listen to your whimper and cry, it's actually more fun that way, he could just get used to this and do it all the time.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

Ass man for sure. He likes to come up behind you and grope you to feel you jolt and squirm. Likes to see it red and covered in handprints. Likes to see the tears in your eyes when he fucks your tight little ass, it's all just so cute.

#yandere x reader #yandere durarara #yandere izaya #yandere izaya orihara #atml

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kikyan · 2 years

Text

Do you want to play a game?

Character: Izaya Orihara

Fandom: Durarara!!

Words: 18.4 K

Au: Saw AU

TW: Gore (not too detailed), mentions of corpses, angst like A LOT, cursing, yandere themes (subtle), etc

Disclaimer: Aside from the first trap, all other ones are taken from the films and edited slightly to fit the AU/Character/and/or situation. I’m not the best at describing them so if you don’t know which trap I’m referring to, let me know and I’ll make a list! The first one I did make up however and as far as I know, it’s original and not in the films!

Honorary Mentions: Thank you so much @pandaiiis for help with the AU, they really helped me a lot with planning the story, characters, and getting an appropriate plotline down! Again, thank you so much!!

Likes and reblogs are appreciated (if you want to reblog but the app shuts down it’s because it’s a really big post so you’ll have to go through the website, don’t use the app)!!

‘He...e? Ca...u...r...me? H..! Hey, can you hear me?!’

[Reader] arose quickly, but came to regret it as a throbbing pain erupted from their head.

“O-ow. . .m-my head. . .”

“ Thank goodness you’re alive!”

[Reader] didn’t recognize this voice at all. Confusion and panic spread, looking up they came to see a male no older than 17 or 18 looking down at them. Their blond dyed hair was the most noticeable, followed by their piercings. Scared beyond anything, [Reader] scrambled to get away from him. They ended up getting up too fast, the pain returning and growing ever so slightly.

“W-who are you?”

“S-sorry, guess I should have introduced myself, I’m Masaomi Kida.”

“Masaomi. . .Kida?”

“Yup!”

“W-where are. . .we?”

“Don’t know, the good thing is that you’re still alive. I haven’t seen you around Ikebukuro as of late, are you new here?”

Nodding, Masaomi understood a bit more of their situation. Whoever they were, he pitied them at the moment. New to Ikebukuro and they awake to a horrible place.

“So what’s your n-!?”

“ LET ME GO!”

Both Masaomi and [Reader] were alerted to a loud voice, directing their attention to a tall male who was dressed professionally. One would guess they were a bartender based on that outfit, but their behavior was a bit brash and abrasive. His blonde hair was probably dyed like Masaomi, but [Reader] was too preoccupied with the situation. Masaomi apologized, before walking up to the male.

“S-Shizuo, calm down!”

“ I CAN’T! NOT WHEN HE’S HERE!”

[Reader] followed his gaze to see a man hunched over, desperately holding onto something to stabilize himself. He coughed a little and blood drops left his lightly pale lips. His black hair was drenched in sweat, probably due to the large coat that he was wearing.

“Izaya. . .”

A soft voice spoke, [Reader] turning to a female with short black hair that seemed to be cut weirdly. She wore a black dress with a hood and her glasses were a bit cracked, no doubt from this place. Speaking of, what was this place?

More people were starting to show up and walk towards the commotion, all with the same confused and frazzled expressions.

“Izaya is here?”

‘Izaya?’ [Reader] wondered, who was that? Considering the reactions everyone had, he probably wasn’t on their good side.

“NO DOUBT HE’S RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT'S GOING ON!”

“I-I’m in the same position as you. . .Shizu-Chan. . .or are you too brain dead to piece that in?”

“WHY!”

[Reader] probably shouldn’t get involved, but something was sitting right with them. It seemed that this “Shizuo” or “Shizu-Chan” was more of an impulsive male, so [Reader] had to approach this logically.

“WAIT SHIZUO!”

[Reader] panicked, his fist was raising and without a doubt, he’d kill that man! [Reader] ran to the man who was crouched down, and with outstretched arms hoped to stop the man. Luckily the punch never came, but [Readers] eyes were closed shut with fear.

“ GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

“ I CAN’T!”

Everybody looked up, not only did they have the ability to stand up to Shizuo, but they were defending Izaya? How idiotic!

“L-listen, I’m new here so-”

“ Then you aren’t aware of who Izaya is, he’s not a good person you know.”

Masaomi emerged from behind Shizuo, turning to glare at the male who was too preoccupied with his savior.

“Maybe, but this doesn’t feel right. This person, Izaya, may have wronged you but I can’t be the judge of that! I’m new here and I wouldn’t feel any better knowing that I was partially responsible for the death of a stranger! Besides, he has a point. . .we all awoke in a strange place. He’s probably just as confused as us, so please reconsider!”

Shizuo scoffed, but he returned his fist to a resting position.

“Be careful what you wish for…”

Masaomi sighed, this had taken a turn for who the fuck knows at this point, but [Reader] was proving to fit the cliche soft personality look. Izaya glanced at [Reader] who returned to a normal state and let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, nothing intense occurred, they wouldn’t know what to do if that happened. Izaya also let out a sigh of relief and was about to speak, until [Reader] turned to him. They extended their hand, which Izaya hesitantly took.

“Don’t make me regret saving you.”

With that, [Reader] walked away to inspect the room and follow up more clues. The room was in horrible condition. The walls were covered in hideous wallpaper, stains on the wall no doubt from the humidity, and visible mold on the corners. [Reader] cleared their throat,

“My name is [Full Name]. I recently moved to Ikebukuro and know absolutely no one. I woke up in this situation just as all of you did, so I say let’s work together until we figure out a way to get out of here.”

Several people were looking at each other and some were hesitant to speak. The blonde-haired and well-dressed male emerged,

“Name’s Shizuo Heiwajima.”

The others quickly followed suit.

“Masaomi Kida.”

“Saki Mikajima.”

“M-Mikado Ryugamine.”

“Anri Sonohara.”

“Mika Harima.”

“Seiji Yagiri. . .”

“Namie Yagiri.”

“Aoba Kuronuma.”

“Ran Izumii.”

“Haruna Niekawa.”

“Takashi Nasujima.”

“Izaya Orihara.”

Though a few harsh glances were thrown across to one another, everyone seemed willing to cooperate. Nobody moved, all looking at one another.

“I see, well if we get out of this place, I hope we can befriend one another.”

“Not happening. Not with him here.”

Shizuo still held distaste, the idea of even working together with Izaya haunted him.

“Same could be said about them. We don’t trust them one bit.”

Masaomi pointed to Takashi and Haruna. The duo was certainly odd with Haruna having long dark hair and big eyes. They were a dark brown, almost reddish tint. They were off-putting to say the least, she looked a bit psychotic. The man held a similar appearance, his dark hair was neatly kept and his eyes were average looking but his face held a sinister vibe to it. Haruna glared back and harshly bit her lips.

“H-hey, just like [Full Name] said, we’re all in the same situation okay? We should try to work together till we get out and I’ll leave Ikebukuro okay?”

“As if we’d believe you!”

“Hey! Enough chit-chatting, we have a job to do here!”

A long-haired female with a straight posture spoke. She had on a green long-sleeved turtleneck with a blue corset, black leggings, and a red short pencil skirt. Her name was Namie.

“Oh yeah? And what fucking job is that?”

A rough voice responded, the owner of said voice wore a dark outfit with a blue scarf, sunglasses, and his hair was slicked back. Half of his face was light pink with a rough and bumpy texture. More than likely, a burn mark. His name was Ran Izumii.

“If we’re going to work together to get out we need to start looking for clues. Unless you want to stay here?”

Scoffing, the male looked away from Namie. She turned to see her brother (presumably since they shared the same last name), Seiji was wearing a gray button-up and black slacks. He was looking around the place, dragging his fingers across the walls in an attempt to find something. A girl was looking around as well, she wore a white button-up, white beanie, and a matching red tie and skirt. Her name was Mika. The others quickly followed suit and it seemed like everyone had their group. Namie, Mika, and Seiji in one though the two girls exchanged harsh glares at each other. Mikado, a boy with blue jeans and a white jacket with the sleeves being green, formed a group with Masaomi, Anri, and Saki. Saki wore blue jeans and an elbow-length pink shirt with white ruffles. Another group was formed by Haruna and Takashi, which made sense because they were both equally hated. Haruna wore a light pink dress whereas Takashi wore a casual white button-up and dark slacks. Shizuo was by himself, Aoba and Izumii held some tension but worked together, and Izaya was also by himself.

[Reader] could join a group, but they felt it was best to leave them be. Izaya noticed [Reader] was alone but didn’t walk over to them. He felt that it was best to leave them, but he did keep a close eye on them. After some time, he decided against his previous thought and walked over to them. [Reader] noticed them and turned to face him.

“How can I help you, Orihara?”

“Izaya is fine. I wanted to thank you earlier. You may come to regret it soon, most do.”

“ What makes you say that?”

“ I’m not a good gu-”

“Hey! We found something!”

Mikado removed a brick, which revealed a hole in the wall. Inside the hole, was a black box. Masaomi grabbed the box and Mikado discarded the brick. They both opened it, revealing 14 envelopes with a name written on them. They began to hand them out to their corresponding owners. [Reader] received theirs, they opened it and began to read the contents,

‘A pillar in someone’s life that slowly begins to crumble is not stable. It reflects upon the builder that has no renowned work or accomplishments. Is the builder incompetent or was the pillar misplaced?

‘Don’t show your statement to someone else.’

[Reader’s] eyes averted from the card, looking around to see everyone examine the contents of their letters. Some had dark looks and others were confused.

Namie closed her eyes,

“What does your letter say?”

“ That I can’t say.”

Her eyes snapped towards [Reader], everyone following the pursuit.

“And why is that?”

They grabbed their letter, flipped it but covered the top half only to reveal the message.

“See.”

“Fair enough. I also have that message.”

Everyone else began agreeing. The question remained, what now? How do we get out of here? That was until a clicking noise was heard. They all turned their heads to the door, the lock came undone and the door was wide open. They exchanged looks before Masaomi walked forward, Saki wrapped her arm around him and shook her head.

“What if it’s a trap Masaomi?”

He stopped, her words had a reason but also stopped everyone from following. Masaomi turned to look around.

“I’m not going if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Namie responded rather coldly but it was the truth. Nobody wanted to risk their lives. Izaya sighed and walked to the door, looking to the sides and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. He proceeded, with [Reader] following suit.

“W-wait-!?”

“ It seems. . .safe. He hasn’t been harmed yet.”

The others all glanced at each other and followed as well. The room they were in led to a hall that was vaguely lit, small traces of light seen every couple steps forward. The hall, however, did echo so their footsteps just added to the dark ambiance. Izaya placed his hand on the knob, turned it, and opened the door to reveal another room. It was circular so the space was minimal, but the main difference was that instead of another door on the other side, there were two. The others filled in quickly and with the last one, Takashi, filling it the door behind them shut closed.

“H-Hey!”

Takashi rattled with the knob but to no avail, the door wouldn’t budge.

“It’s no use, the door is closed shut!”

Izaya only shrugged his shoulders,

“It seems that this game wants us to move forward, not backward.”

“Game? Who said this was a game?”

Namie questioned, Izaya smiled and pointed to the corner. Namie turned to look and saw cameras. As others followed, they too came to the horrifying discovery of cameras.

“Cameras?”

“To observe no doubt.”

“Observe what? Why us?”

Mika was asking the right questions but all at the wrong time. [Reader] turned to them and attempted to comfort them.

“We need to remain calm. They have cameras so obviously, this is a trial of sorts. We could have been picked for a reason or were at the wrong place at the wrong time. If we don’t approach it carefully, who knows, we don’t know what lies ahead after all.”

“You seem a bit calm.”

Aoba pointed out, hands in his pockets staring at [Reader]. They shook their head,

“No, actually I’m scared shitless and confused. I want to know where I am, why I’m here, how this works, what lies ahead, why us, and many other things. I also know that if I panic a lot, I’ll make rash decisions and don’t think things through. I don’t want a choice I make to be rash and lead to something worse. So for now, let’s try to keep calm and work together.”

Reasonable enough, everyone once again nodded in agreement and went their separate ways to look for clues. Izaya stayed behind and went with [Reader].

“What were you saying before Izaya?”

“Nothing important, but look at you. You’ve managed to keep yourself composed quite well.”

“As have you and others. Strangely enough, I’m sure we all have our worries but we can’t express them at the moment. I wasn’t lying when I said I was scared, I don’t know what’s going on and what to do.”

“You said you’re new to Ikebukuro?”

“Yes that’s right, I recently moved here. I remember arri. . .wait. . .”

“Hm?”

“No, that's the thing. I don’t remember what I was doing. . .”

Panic began to spread across their face. [Reader] turned to the others and loudly asked,

“Do any of you guys remember what you were doing before now?”

Everyone halted in their tracks and thought, but no one could remember a thing.

“I remember moving here, but that was it. The last memory I have is setting my moving boxes down. I don’t remember anything.”

“Same here, I remember walking around the city but that’s about it.”

Shizuo stated, causing everyone to share about their day.

“I was walking around with Seiji!”

“I was at my office the whole time.”

“I was out on a job.”

“School.”

“We all went out after school. . .”

“I was in my house all day.”

“I was with Takashi all day.”

“So nobody remembers how we got here, is that it?”

Though some were confused, Aoba spoke up.

“So what you’re getting at, is that someone probably took us here, correct?”

“ Not exactly, but it would make sense. I mean nobody forgets their memory, do they? The camera also backs it up, no offense but I don’t think I would have agreed to be here at all.”

“So you’re saying we’ve been kidnapped. Not surprising, Ikebukuro has always been filled with shady people. . .”

“Hey sis, do you think Yagiri Pharmaceuticals was somehow involved?”

“ I doubt it, I don’t remember signing this into place. Not that I would, I do not need for you all. Unless someone went behind my back. . .”

“Alright, being taken by force does seem plausible, but what about Anri? Izumii? Or Shizuo for that matter. I doubt someone could forcibly take them.”

Everyone turned to see them, patiently awaiting answers.

“W-well I was with you guys so I was probably caught off guard as well. . .”

“So that leaves the two of you. Izumii, Shizuo.”

“Don’t know, don’t remember. Oh well, I could care less about my current situation, to say the least.”

Izumii spoke and it appeared to be the truth. He was quite laid back, leaning against a wall.

“Real fucking helpful.”

Izumii got up and glared at Namie though it was hard to tell considering he still had his shades on.

“ I told you the truth, why do you want to start something?”

“Hmph.”

“Fighting won’t solve anything!”

Saki exclaimed but still held onto Masaomi, past trauma was slowly creeping on her.

“ Hm, do you want your arms broken to match those legs?”

“ THAT’S ENOUGH!”

“W-wait Masaomi!”

Anri, Mikado, and Saki did their best to hold back Masaomi who was fuming. The other’s simply stood by and watched, even Shizuo which was surprising, to say the least.

“We’re just wasting time by doing nothing.”

For once Shizuo was saying something smart. [Reader] was a bit confused, moving to this city didn’t seem like a red flag but it was alarming by how much bad blood there was between everyone. Izaya was hated by everyone but he didn’t raise any red flags, Namie was involved in the shady business from the confession she gave earlier, Izumii broke Saki’s arms or something? Shizuo had anger management issues, nobody liked Takashi and Haruna either, and Mika had a strange scar that went around her whole neck. Compared to them, everyone was so chaotic.

“Since when are you the voice of reason, Shizu-Chan?”

To everyone’s shock though, Shizuo didn’t budge.

“What, you’re not going to manically attack me? Since when were you so obedient?”

That, however, seemed to spark something. Though he was angry, he still didn’t budge. Just got close to Izaya and leaned forward,

“Let’s get moving, fucking parasite.”

With that, Shizuo just walked to the door and continued to examine them, leaving Izaya deep in thought. Though the tension was there, everyone seemed to put it aside while they examined the room. Namie and her group started playing with the walls to see if any loose bricks were there.

“ I doubt they’ll use the same trick twice.”

Aoba stated, simply turning around to examine the flooring.

“Better to be safe than sorry.”

Again, tensions were strong but bearable. No one has hurt anyone else, yet. Time went on, about 5 minutes and nobody had gotten anywhere.

“There has to be something we’re not seeing.”

“Mikado is right, everyone double-checks the area!”

“ Since when did we have to follow your orders?”

That tension was hanging on a single thread. Small arguments were starting to rise, within the smaller groups too.

“Stop hogging Seiji and get to looking.”

“I just want to search with Seiji! Besides you haven’t found anything either so quit nagging!”

“Oooh, a catfight. How exciting.”

“You’re so disgusting! Have you even attempted to look? Doubt you can, your type is always so fucking clueless. There’s nothing in that brain other than desire.”

“I’m not afraid to fucking kill you, bitch!”

Izumii grabbed a nearby brick and glared at Namie, slowly making his way over. The only one capable of stopping him would be Shizuo, but he appeared to do nothing, making everyone panic.

“ I got it.”

That seemed to calm everyone down, turning to the voice that spoke. It was [Reader], Izaya by their side as they wiped at the door.

“X marks the spot.”

“Which would be that right there.”

Everyone followed Izaya’s finger and there laid a normal exit sign.

“An exit sign?”

It was an old exit sign, the two small lights next to the bulky contraption.

“I’m not seeing any other X here, are you?” Izaya teased, a small smile playing on his lips.

[Reader] started to see why Izaya was slightly hated, his last statement was said with a teasing almost sarcastic tone. Almost as if he was doubting their intelligence or calling them all stupid. Probably not to a serious extent, but like a typical sibling dispute. Well, whatever, who were they to judge, and as far as they could tell, he hadn’t done anything serious other than some casual annoying remarks.

“Makes sense, it’s quite big and those you can prop open to remove the battery. Is there anything to stand on?”

“ I got it.”

Shizuo walked over to the sign and ripped it out of the wall.

“Here.”

“T-t-thank you?”

‘Holy shit, did he just?’

[Reader] was certainly struck, so THIS is what they meant when they questioned why Shizuo was here if they were taken by force. Pretty sure anyone who attempted to lay their hands on him would be on a hospital bed. They were thanking any deity they prayed to that he listened to reason and didn’t strike them down when they were defending Izaya. Who knows if they would have been on the hospital bed themselves!

“W-would it be too much to ask you to open it?”

“Hm? No.”

Though his answers were short and straight, he seemed confused by their tone. Well, at least his answers were kind?

Upon opening it, there lay an envelope. [Reader] opened it and skimmed the contents before reading it out loud.

‘The door to the left holds societies outcasts while the door on the right holds societies insiders. Society is upheld by those who participate to keep it. The builder that builds it and the defender that defends it. The system that offers redemption is seen through the eye of the lover, the one tied down by emotion, and the scientist, the one tied down by curiosity and logic. The fool is eager and scared to discover the world and the blind, the one who struggles to see the clarity in the world but with room to improve. Society is broken by the sinner and the guilty party with no objective but to please their desires. The outsider who thrives on the attention of being the rebel, the observer who does nothing to help but only watches, and it's copycat, who strives to continue this destructive path. These are the ones who walk a condemned path and deserve no savior.’

“What an edge lord.”

Though the comment came from Izaya himself, snickers and laughs were shared among all. That much is true, who left the discord moderator rampant?

“Well, that’s all we got. So it seems our hunch was right Izaya, but aside from this. . .we don’t have much to go off on.”

“It did mention the two doors so it has to be a clue.”

“It talks about good and bad people, so that could be a clue too!”

Mika points out the fact, but Namie is quick to shut her down.

“ Good and bad are subjective. You could call yourself a good person but you’re just an annoyance.”

“The both of you, stop fighting.”

Namie just kept edging Mika on while Seiji 'attempted’ to settle it, which didn’t work.

“She’s right, those terms are subjective. We need a more concrete way of choosing.”

“Who said anything about choosing, for all we know it could just be a riddle.”

“Two doors, two options. Choose which one we are and go through the door, that's the only explanation.”

Mikado was deep in thought. Anri, Masaomi, and Saki were both talking among themselves but Mikado kept wondering. Yeah, they were right. It’s subjective. It’s strange to assume that good and bad do exist too since it’s all a social construct. That’s the answer, but what answer did they want? What morals were they following? He pulled out his card and read the contents to see if they would provide a clue,

“Is self-sacrifice worth the title of savior? Or is self sacrifice the atonement of one's sins?”

That was all, aside from the ‘do not reveal your card’ warning, that was all it said. What could that mean? It was probably clear that everyone had a different statement, but what did his card mean?

“Wait. . everyone take out your cards!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Masaomi, what does yours say?”

“ I can’t show you, man-”

“So don’t, we can’t show but we can tell! What’s the word that you have that [Reader] said?”

“Uh, I do have one-”

“That’s the answer! The word in your card is what your role is. We know what door we need to go through.”

Everyone got their card out, read the contents, and moved to the side of the door that they needed to enter. On the left was; Izaya, Izumii, Aoba, Haruna, Takashi, Masaomi, and Mikado. The right door consisted of; [Reader], Shizuo, Anri, Saki, Seiji, Mika, and Namie. After everyone was in front of their respected doors, they were opened to reveal a dark and barely lit hallway. Similar to the one they used to enter the room they were currently standing in.

“Mikado. . .”

Anri called out with worry, though Saki remained silent she too shared the same worry.

“Don’t worry Anri, we’ll all be reunited once again.”

“ We promise not to keep you ladies waiting!”

Despite the confusing and mind-stressing situation they were in, those four managed to remain hopeful.

“Well, let’s go. Namie walked forward, though she was slightly worried about being first. The others followed suit, Anri and Saki were holding hands and Shizuo was behind [Reader]. Once everyone was through the door, it slammed shut.

“Check the door!”

Namie screamed with Shizuo and [Reader] turning to the door, trying to open it. Locked.

“W-what happened? What’s going on? Seiji!”

“T…that. . .”

Namie was pointing to something, but her posture was getting sluggish. Stumbling around, Seiji rushed to help his sister but by then she had already collapsed.

“Sis? Sis!”

A thud was heard, Seiji turned around to see Mika on the ground calling out his name, weakly. What was going on?

“It’s gas!”

Shizuo along with the girls and [Reader] were covering their mouths and nose. Trying hard to keep the gas from entering their systems, but in doing so, they triggered the pipes and vents to release a larger dosage at an alarming speed. Saki fell first, holding onto Anri’s hand as Anri also came undone by the gas. Seiji collapsed soon after, with Shizuo and [Reader] holding out. They felt their lungs burn, their mouth threatening to open and their nose inhaling. They needed air, fast. Sleep was slowly overcoming them, just before they passed out they saw a glimpse of a hand reaching to cup their head, preventing them from slamming it on the harsh pavement.

“N. . .o. . .h. . lp. . .”

Cold. That was all Namie felt when she opened her eyes. Oh, and harsh screams.

“ SIS! ARE YOU AWAKE?”

“H. . .huh?”

“Seiji!”

“Seiji, what’s going on?”

Before he could respond, Namie figured it out herself. A large chain was around her neck and as she was feeling it, she started to see what position she was in. The chain that wrapped around her neck was long and it trailed from the floor to the ceiling, but it dangled over a pole however something was blocking anything other than the chain from going over. Trailing that chain, she came to see that it was wrapped around Seiji’s foot. It was odd, but then she saw Mika across from her, also chained up in the same position as her, her chain was also connecting to Seiji’s foot as well.

“What’s the meaning of this? Where are the others?”

A light shone in a separate room. In that room, the others were inside but couldn’t open the door. The room resembled a control room, meant for construction. Buttons, levers, and other gadgets lie in the panel.

“Can we help them?”

“ I don’t think we can!”

“Shit!”

“What does that say?”

‘Play me’

Anri hesitantly clicked the button that had the note. A loud ‘click’ was heard and then a distorted voice spoke out,

“Here lies the three of you, Mika Harima, Seiji Yagiri, and Namie Yagiri. Mika willingly scarred herself to become what Seiji loved, Namie has a morally questionable love towards her brother, and Seiji, who isn't interested in any of them but makes do with them until he has what he wants, Celty. Now, I’ll make you pick one. You’ll see the chains around their necks are connected to your feet. One of their chains on either foot is important. The chains that connect you three are long and are thrown over a pole. As you can see, there lies a metal contraption restricting anything bigger than the chain’s width to pass through, certainly something bigger would just dangle from such heights too. Don’t be alarmed! I have just the solution! The goal is to pick one, and when you have them walk forward to them, however, the one you turn your back on will certainly feel pulled and start to hang. Naturally, one of you will die. If you can’t pick one Seiji, there is a timer set to pull the both of them, they’ll both die but you’ll live. If the girls are feeling adventurous they could walk to the center, but that would force Seiji to dangle himself. The distance between the two of you is so far that if Seiji does struggle he’ll be torn in half! That’s perfect though, one half for each girl to be satisfied, wouldn’t you agree? The key to free the girls is around the hand that corresponds with what foot their chain is connected to, and the key to free your foot is around their neck. Simple enough right? Oh and by the way, one more thing. Those mental contraptions aren’t just to look pretty, once you reach a certain distance to the girl you want to save, that contraption will squeeze the chain tight of the opposing one to ensure you don’t pull a fast one to save the other. Once it squeezes, nothing is letting that hold go! So finally, you can pick one, Seiji. Good luck and I hope the surviving couple thrives! Ah, young love these days!”

“SEIJI!”

Mika cried out, running to him but the chain connecting his left leg was rising, causing him to trip.

“STAY BACK! If you get any closer to him you’ll hurt him. Seiji, I’m your sister! You know I’ll never do anything to hurt you and all I want to do is protect you.”

“Seiji! Listen, I don’t care about all that! Just being by your side makes me happy!”

“Seiji!”

“SEIJI!”

The on and on voices were flooding his brain. Pick one. Pick one. PICK ONE! It’s so easy Seiji, you don’t even need to pick! Just leave them both to die and when the timer runs out, ah yes that lovely timer that he can’t even see. How much time is left? Ah, it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t need to pick one after all. Seiji just kneeled in defeat, head resting on his hands.

“It doesn’t matter, I just won’t pick one. Yeah. . .that sounds about right. . .”

The door was still locked for the others, so helping him was out of the question. In that room, there was a scuffle of their own.

“ You can’t open it?”

“No, the door is straight-up steel!”

“ S-Shizuo? Can you break it down?”

“ I can’t.”

“W-What? You should be able to”

“ Yeah, I should be able to but I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Anri didn’t press too much into it, Shizuo was frustrated but with what? Shizuo IS strong enough to take down the door, but him choosing not to is a bit strange? Despite what others think, he is one to help when needed. Anri surely hadn’t spent too much time with him, but it was clear that there was another factor at hand. He was facing the floor, his expression quite visible and it was filled with regret. He wanted to help, but something was holding him back. [Reader] didn’t know much about them or anything, but they still wanted to help. It was only natural because there was strength in numbers.

“Let’s see if we can find a crowbar or something to pry the lock open!”

“O-Okay!”

Meanwhile, Seiji was still undecided.

“L-Listen, Seiji. It’s not true, none of it was true. True I’m just a lowly stalker, a criminal of sorts, or maybe just an annoyance. Yes, I did change my appearance, but I changed it, not scarred it! Anything I do, I do for you. I love you, you may not feel the same but that’s okay. I’m okay! It’s okay if you don’t love me, if you see me as an annoyance, or if you see me as a temporary replacement for the real head but-! But even so, I still want to be with you! I don’t mind all that, being with you is what matters the most to me and I’ll cherish every moment! I’ll happily do so because you’ve given me a reason to live! I love you.”

“But I don’t love you. . . “

Seiji’s whispering was unsettling, Namie was unsure of how much time was left but she knew that there was no use trying to win him over with a cute speech. She was a woman of efficacy, giving the customer what they want, saying what the customer wants to hear, and that’s how you resolve conflict.

“Seiji, Celty’s real head, Izaya has it! Once we get out of here, I’ll do anything I need to do to make sure you see Celty again. Mika is happy being a copycat, but I’m happy giving you what you want. You know that, right Seiji?”

Seiji’s head perked up at Celtys’ name. He turned to see his sister, she didn’t appear frantic so sure what she was saying was the truth. It wasn’t a plea of desperation with him, it was the truth. Namie stood still, arms stretched and a small smile played at her lips.

“Seiji, your happiness is my happiness. If you want to see Celty, I’ll help you see them. They’ll be all yours because I do care for you.”

His feet shuffled, walking towards Namie. Mika’s screams were drowned by Seiji’s voice mumbling Celty’s name over and over again. She felt a small pressure pull her upwards, her feet lifting from the ground. Her hands immediately went to the chain around her neck and she desperately pulled it.

“S-Seiji! C-Can’t breathe. . .”

That smile on Namie’s lips widened upon hearing Maika’s pathetic whines. Mika at this point was dangling from the air. Her mouth was watering, her feet were going numb but still desperately kicking, her fingers shaking a bit, and the air leaving her lungs was pure anguish. Seiji was nearing Namie, who welcomed him with a hug.

“ I’ll help you get her back, don’t worry Seiji.”

The conclusion was a sad one, the contraption shut on the chains leaving Mika’s body to dangle from a high altitude. No doubt, she was dead. Underneath her was a puddle of liquid, a combination of spit and urine. Namie grabbed the key from Seiji’s hand, freed herself, and then helped Seiji free himself. A buzzing sound was heard, the door was opened and out came everyone. Namie paid no attention, she was hugging Seiji and whispering sweet promises into his ears.

“M-Mika. . .”

Anri was in shock, sure they had ulterior motives when they befriended one another but that didn’t mean Anri didn’t care for the girl.

“There, there, Seiji. Everything will be alright. . .”

“ How!? One of us is dead?!”

Namie glared at Saki who didn’t hold back on her call out. Namie covered Seiji’s ears before lashing back.

“There was nothing we could do, one of us was bound to die. I just made sure it wasn’t me.”

“We should have worked towards a solution together!”

“How? You all were useless and the one who could help didn’t.”

Shizuo’s fist tightened, turning around and avoiding the looks he received. [Reader] grabbed Anri and turned her away from Mika’s body. Trying their best to console them.

“Are you going to be a bitch?”

Everyone, even Shizuo, snapped out of their trance, turning to face [Reader].

“ This doesn’t concern you, besides Seiji made his choice.”

“He didn’t make shit. He was too scared to even think, you decided for him and manipulated him into taking your side.”

“I’m his sister-”

“Who has a fucking crush on him. That doesn’t strike you as strange?”

“I’m sorry, but who are you exactly? What have you done for Seiji? For anyone? You can’t scold someone for your failed actions. We did what we had to, it was survival of the fittest and sometimes that means adapting and working with what you have. Don’t misunderstand me, I still plan to help Seiji recover what he wants.”

“Wow, imagine missing the point.”

“Someone didn’t tell you, so I’ll tell you. You’ll soon come to realize that Ikebukuro is a place like any other, if you came trying to find a peaceful law-abiding city, you’re mistaken. You have that beast over there who sometimes goes rampant destroying anything in his path, that one harboring a spirit that manifests into a blade and anyone cut by it will obey, Mikado and Masaomi both creating groups full of misfits who wreak havoc on the town, Izaya who obtains information as a living by any means necessary and as a hobby places people into situations just to see their reactions, Izumii being a gangster, Aoba becoming into a mini Izaya, Mika was a stalker, Haruna also another one harboring another spirit, and Takashi a teacher who is rumored to be a pedophile. So no, nobody here in this group is sin-free. If you mean to lecture me on how Mika had much to live for then don’t bother. I’m not interested in hearing it.”

They heard a loud click, the door on the far side of the room had been unlocked, revealing another hallway but this one was lit decently well. The others started to make their way there, but [Reader] just looked at Mika’s body. There was no use trying to retrieve it, none. Anri hesitated for a second, but grabbed [Reader’s] hand and led them to the door.

“Hey, thank you for that by the way.”

“I’m sorry, it seems only words are what I contributed to.”

“No it’s fine, words are more than enough. I know that many people thought of her as strange and dumb, dumb for devoting her whole life to a boy who didn’t even like her but still. . .”

“Maybe it wasn’t the best, but it was still a reason to keep living. Do you know? Sometimes all you need in life is a reason, a reason to keep going. I’m sorry for your loss. . .”

Saki rejoined the group and also expressed her condolences. Once they made it through the door, it was slammed shut and locked. The vents were opened and out came more gas.

“N-not again. . .”

Everyone began to collapse, the influence of the gas overpowering everyone once more. Back with the boys and Haruna, they too experienced the same thing but let’s say their loss wasn’t that controversial. After passing through the door and bidding farewell to the other group, they too fell under the influence of the gas. When they all awoke, everyone but Aoba and Izumii was present. Izaya’s head was throbbing as he took quite a fall earlier, but he came to focus on the situation at hand. He, along with the others, was in another room. The room was all steel so any chance of leaving the room easily was through the window, speaking of windows there was some present for viewing purposes but reinforced. Some cracks decorated the window but to no avail, they didn’t break. Where were Izumii and Aoba? Well, they were on the outside of the secluded room and both still asleep it seemed. In the middle was a contraption of sorts with two chains connecting their necks (how original) however their placement was strange. Each of them on the opposite side, it seemed as if there was something attached to the chain.

“W. . What? What the fuck!?”

Welp, Izumii was awake. His hands trailed to his eyes and his horror, found that they were closed shut by what felt like a thread of sort? Opening his eyes was going to be a challenge and his hand started to follow the chain to the contraption in the middle.

“ What the fuck is this? Somebody help!”

Aoba was stirring, slowly going to wake. Once his peepers were open, he began to see the situation but came to find pain in his mouth. Trailing his fingers lightly, he noted that his mouth was sewn shut by some kind of thread. Any noise he made came out muffled. Izumii was perceptive and noticed the presence of someone else in the room with him.

“Show yourself! I’m not playing any fucking games.”

A button was in the control room, Izaya saw the ‘play me’ note and thinking nothing of it, click it.

“Don’t click random things! You could put us all in danger!”

Takashi panicked, but Izaya paid no mind.

“It’s best to follow directions and do what’s asked of us, play by their rules until we know our enemy.”

Meanwhile, following the initial push, a small tape recording click was heard. Everyone piped down to hear what it had to say.

“I won’t take too long, as you can see, well at least one of you, the key that you need is around the other one's neck. The contraption in the middle once triggered will start reeling the both of you to death, essentially you’re working against the clock here. The both of you can live, but who knows if one of you harbors another agenda. Live or die, your choice.”

“Who’s there!?”

Aoba couldn’t say anything, but at the same time would he? The tape didn’t reveal their names so was this a trap meant for anyone and they were the unlucky few? No, that tape seemed to hint at something. Granted if they knew each other’s name he wasn’t exactly sure if Izumii would go easy on him. He knew that his brother harbored a deep hatred for him, but so did he.

‘The goal is to get the key, but can I get it without him attacking me?’

Aoba was deep in thought, his brother on the other hand kept screaming profanities at him or to what he believed was another person in the room with him. He noticed something different about his brother minus the eyes shut closed, his movement was sluggish? Was he drugged? Aoba approached softly, one thing he could see was that the contraption wasn’t moving meaning it wasn’t triggered just yet. A race against the clock but the timer hadn’t started yet. He liked his odds, but Izumii was just shouting in rage. Izumii grabbed his chain and began to pull. Aoba fell to the floor and a muffled cry left his stitched-up mouth.

“There. . .there you are.”

A sadistic laugh left Izumii’s mouth as he rushed over to where Aoba was. Aoba quickly scrambled to his feet to get away but Izumii used the chain to his advantage, pulling it once more except Aoba pulled back and to his surprise, he managed to hold his own against his brother. Now he knew for sure his brother was drugged, his physical movements were restricted a lot by whatever he was given which Aoba could only assume was to make the playing field fair. Unfortunately, their tug of war was cut short when they were both lunged forward, their confusion was answered when they heard the sound of turning gears. The contraption was triggered so now the timer was set, Aoba thanked his brother's stupidity because now his brother was freaking out over the wrong thing. Aoba saw a nearby tool, a hammer of sorts which he grabbed and walked slowly to Izumii. The sound of the contraption helped blend his steps. When he was close enough he lunged forward to Izumii, jumping on his back and with the hammer hitting his head repeatedly. Izumii fell to the ground but managed to compose himself fairly quickly. By then he was too late, Aoba grabbed the key hanging from his collar and ran to a safe place to quickly free himself. Izumii began feeling around and managed to feel a crowbar. He started swinging it right and left, eventually giving up and throwing it. He managed to hit Aoba who let out a cry of pain. Izumii started to lunge towards him, Aoba, however, managed to get out of the contraption, and using the same key stabbed it into Izumii’s stitched-up eye. Izumii screamed and with Aoba fully free, ran to the door leaving Izumii to suffer his fate.

“Help! Help me! HELP ME! COME BACK HERE YOU FUCKER! I’LL MAKE YOU PAY! I’LL FUCKING MAKE YOU PAY YOU PIECE OF SHIT!”

Everyone in the control room just witnessed, Izaya was honestly surprised that nobody bothered to help. Granted, unlike [Reader] who knew nothing of each other, many knew of Aoba and his brother’s reputation. With a horrifying screech and the sound of a neck-snapping in half, Izumii was dead. Both doors, leading to the hallway and out of the room were opened. Once everyone left, they all turned to Aoba who was cutting into the threads with the same key he used earlier. In comparison to Izumii, his stitches weren’t that complex and fully shut. His mouth was in an okay state aside from the occasional blood.

“L-listen, I don’t care who I’m up against. I’m making it out alive. I don’t care who I need to cross and hurt, I will survive.”

Nobody could disagree but this made people wonder, if they were up against Aoba would he use a dirty trick like that against them. Masaomi grabbed Mikado’s hand, slowly walking away from Aoba who had a crazed expression. Izaya simply chuckled, typical. Despite his conditions, he couldn’t stop himself from enjoying everyone’s expression and mannerisms. Masaomi leads Mikado away and towards the door, the others quickly following suit.

“ Mikado, listen. We need to do anything in our power to make it out alive if we get put into a trap. All four of us will survive, I promise you that.”

Mikado nodded, this wasn’t one of those cliche moments where you think you’re friends but then at the end, someone pulls a fast one and you’re all alone. The four had a bond like no other, they were going to do anything they could to help each other out, that much was promised. Upon entering that hallway, some started to cough, the vents opened up and the gas started to fill in.

“A-again!? What now!”

Masaomi tried to cover up his mouth and nose along with Mikado but both failed. Before passing out, one could only wonder what would lie before them. What other traps and who would be tested?

“O-ow. . .my head. . .”

“A-anri?!”

“M-Mikado!?”

They both rushed to one another, they shared an embrace before separating from each other. They turned to look around them but Masaomi was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Masaomi?!”

“ I don’t know, where’s Saki?”

“She was with me. . .no! Do you think?!”

[Reader] began to wake, noticing Izaya was by their side.

“Hey, are you feeling any better?”

“H. . .huh? Oh, Izaya. Yeah, I’m okay. Being gassed twice in a row doesn’t help though. . .what’s going on? Where are we?”

“We all seem to be reunited, but two are missing.”

“You lost someone too?”

“Yeah. . .but I mean now. Two are missing.”

“Who?!”

“Masaomi and Saki.”

“Shit, you don’t think?”

“Considering what happened not too long ago, I’m sure that’s what happened.”

“What happened in your group?”

“Izumii was killed by Aoba.”

“I see, Mika was killed by Namie.”

“Namie? Didn’t strike me as the type to do something against someone herself.”

“Well she didn’t, Seiji was forced to pick one and the other would die but Namie manipulated him into picking her. Also, she said ``you have ahead with you?”

“ I had it.”

“I’m sorry you ‘had’ a head!?”

“Long story, one I’ll be happy to tell you when we get out. In the meantime, we need to find a way to get out of here.”

Light’s turned on and from the room, they were in, another control room no doubt that was locked to prevent them from interfering with the rest, could see outwards. There, Saki was awake but scared. She was in a contraption that resembled a cross, despite that her limbs were spread apart and held by another contraption that was bolted to the cross. She tried to pull her arms out but the contraption was meant to prevent her from doing so. Her legs, arms, and head were held in place by them. She was beyond scared, but someone who also looked scared was Masaomi who was on the ground staring at her. She was crying, pleading with Masaomi to help her.

“ Masaomi help me please!”

“S-SAKI!”

The trap wasn’t triggered just yet so it gave Masaomi some time to look around. Not too far from where Saki was, there was a clear box that held the key but a shotgun was inside the box with a string attached to the trigger. He looked back at Saki, who directed his attention to a recorder of sorts around her neck. He grabbed it and pressed the red button that was meant to play the tape within.

“Masaomi Kida and Saki Mikajima, a match made in heaven. Your tale begins when you were devoted to Izaya, believing he could do no wrong. You listened to his whim and approached Masaomi. Fooled around a bit and at any minor inconvenience directed him to Izaya, the one who would test Masaomi’s will and resolve. This led to your capture, Izumii breaking your legs and you overplaying your injuries to hurt Masaomi mentally. Masaomi is too much of a coward to save you, living with regret since day one. Well, today is the day, Masaomi! Have you finally grown up and are ready to face the issue at hand? The contraption that your dear girlfriend is in is a personal favorite, no pun intended but it’ll do more than repeat history that’s for sure! Once the mechanism is triggered, the mental contraptions will work and rotate her limbs a full 360! Now, I’m no expert but I know for a fact normal limbs don’t do that, meaning, oh no! Her limbs will be broken! That’s not the worst part though, you see one around her neck, right? If she somehow manages to live through the pain and blood loss from her limbs, well, she’ll certainly die when the one by her neck rotates her head and decapitates her! Fear not, no need to lose our heads pun intended there, next to you is the key within the case but if you pull the key to free her, the shotgun's trigger will be released. . .and fire! Surely you love your girlfriend enough to get shot at least once right?? Or maybe you can work around it to safely get the key out if you have the time to spare. C’mon Masaomi, I’m sure you’re ready to do something. . .right? The choice is yours.”

Saki by this point was sobbing hysterically, the trap hadn’t been triggered yet but boy was that tape horrible. Masaomi panicked, the tape was too cheerful despite the events that were about to unfold. He was scared, yeah it was true. He wussed out, he was too much of a pussy to do something but you think he doesn’t regret it? He wished he dared to help her, back then at least. Now, but now it is different. He should have the courage, so why is he standing still in fright?

“Masaomi!”

He turned to hear the voice of Mikado and Anri, locked in the room. He was no fool, if it were anything like the previous room he was in then he knew it could not be opened that easily. Shizuo was there, so maybe there was a chance? Still, he was all on his own just like last time.

“MASAOMI!’

Saki shrieked, the sound of gears was heard and that meant the trap was working. He was working against the clock. He ran to the clear box and was about to grab the key, but then his eyes met the shotgun and he let go. Could he risk being shot, to save the girl he loved? Was he strong enough to make that sacrifice?

“S-Shit!”

[Reader] began looking around the room, attempting to find anything of use. Anri pulled out Saika and tried her luck with the door to see if it would somehow help, but to no avail. Mikado was picking up whatever hard object he could find and started throwing it at the window in a frenzy. [Reader] managed to get a crowbar and placed it alongside the door, Anri joined them and using all their force tried to pry the door open. Izaya could only stare at them, they didn’t know them but we’re risking it all to help. It was strange, [Reader] didn’t strike him as the type to try to prove their worth or try to appease others, so what could be the reason. It could hardly be the ‘all life is precious’ reason, nah they didn’t seem the type.

“If Shizuo helped, that door would have been laid to waste already.”

Namie stated, but they didn’t make an effort to help somehow. They were holding onto Seiji and rubbing his back, he was still in his rambling mood. Aoba also inquired,

“That’s true. Why don’t you help Shizuo? Or do you just not care.”

Shizuo was looking at the camera that lay in the room. [Reader] and Izaya both noticed it, what did he have to do with the camera?

“Typical behavior of a monster, not caring about anyone but himself-”

“I CAN’T HELP EVEN IF I WANTED TO! IF I DO THEN SHE MIGHT forget it. It doesn’t concern you.”

Everyone was quiet, it started to make sense. He was being threatened. [Reader] felt empathetic, he wanted to help but if he did someone he cared for would be hurt. Namie only mocked him more and more, without thinking [Reader] sprinted towards Namie and ripped Seiji away from her. Raising their fist, they brought it down on Namie’s face resulting in an array of stares and gasps.

“Well, I didn't think they had it in them.”

Izaya appeared to be happy? No, more like pleased.

“YOU BITCH-!”

“WHY DON’T YOU DO SOMETHING INSTEAD OF RUNNING YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOU WHEN YOU DON’T EVEN BOTHER TRYING.”

Namie started to fight back since [Reader] got a jump on them, but [Reader] wasn’t letting this go. They kept punching, hitting, and kicking until Izaya had to pull them off.

“All you care about is getting in your brother’s pants, fucking bitch.”

[Reader] released themselves from his grasp and went to help them pry open the door. Meanwhile, Saki’s legs had already twisted and her arms were surely next. Masaomi cried,

“P-please! Help me! Anyone! I can’t do this by myself I-?!”

“M-Masaomi!”

He was scared. Confused. In shock, he couldn’t understand it but it hurt. Everything did. He knew what he had to do but didn’t dare to do it. Saki’s screams and pleas weren’t exactly the motivation they expected.

“M-Masaomi, listen. . .I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you for being scared. I would be too and I don’t blame you if you s-still resent me! OW! AHHH! L-Listen. . .I don’t blame you. It’s my fault, don’t worry. I love you and I-I hope you can love me too, I know I’ve let you down!”

“No. . .no-! You didn’t let me down, I let you down! You needed me, you wanted me to be there and I should have been there! I should have protected you as I promised! I’m sorry Saki, I’m so sorry!”

Her arms were already twisted and her neck would be soon. He didn’t have time to second guess it. If he let her die, it would just be like what the tape said, ‘C’mon Masaomi, I’m sure you’re ready to do something, right?’ Was he ready? He had to be, or someone he cared for would pay the price. He let out a scream and lunged for the key, the moment he held it in his hand he pulled and moved to the side, the shotgun firing. The bullet missed any vital organs, he dodged the bullet. He ran to where Saki was, grabbed the lock on the chain, and attempted to open the lock but realized something, the key was bent and misshapen. The bullet missed, but the key took a light blow meaning it was unusable.

“N-No, t-this isn’t fair-! S-Saki-. . .Saki?”

Her neck snapped, her head was completely twisted and he could see visible bone Her legs and arms were completely shattered, bone protruding from the torn up and twisted skin. Blood was leaking everywhere, her body was in a horrid state and it didn’t help that the contraption released around her neck, leaving her head to roll down Masaomi’s arm and into his chest, the head is supported by his elbows that cupped it. Hyperventilating and then he released a loud wail, by the door to the area he was in opened, and out came everyone. He let go of the head that managed to stain his white hoodie with red. [Reader] sprinted to where he was and pulled him aside from her head. They embraced him to which he returned, burying himself into their chest and sobbing. Mikado also came to console his friend along with Anri who had slightly visible vomit around her mouth. Who could blame her, the sight itself was gruesome. Izaya only stared at the scene, mostly [Reader] consoling him.

Despite it being cliche, it was human behavior. The need to comfort someone, even a stranger in dark and horrible situations. I guess, as much as Izaya enjoyed seeing the ugly sides of humans, he also found it somewhat peaceful that they exhibited some positive behaviors. Shizuo was in shock and his eyes wide, but he couldn’t bring himself to face Saki’s body or Masaomi’s state. Namie was still pissed but pretended not to be because Seiji needed her. Aoba remained quiet, he didn’t want to be that person, actually no scratch that he didn’t care. He saw this coming a mile away. Takashi and Haruna, who luckily haven’t been in any trap, didn't say a word. They didn’t seem to care or acknowledge their existence which is just what he needed. As long as nobody paid attention to them and he kept Haruna happy, he knew there was a secure method of survival. The door on the side opened, no doubt revealing another hallway that they would walkthrough. Everyone started to walk through, [Reader] let go of Masaomi who held tighter when they did. They gave him to Mikado and Anri who did the best they could to console him. As everyone was leaving, Izaya stayed behind along with [Reader] who grabbed a nearby blanket and went to cover the head up.

“Sorry, a force of habit.”

“What is.”

“ Caring. Mika was too high up and we had no way to collect her body back, but if we did I would have done the same. . .I wonder. . why are we here?”

“Who knows. I guess we’re just an unlucky bunch.”

“Nice to know, I was expecting a, because nobody is innocent and we’re all sinners argument, then again it sounds like something Namie would say.”

“ Nobody goes through life being 100% innocent, the same goes for me and you but I don’t believe that we should all suffer the same fate.”

“I agree.”

“ I’ll see you there [Reader], maybe you can enlighten me on the things Namie told you about me. We can talk about that punch you delivered though.”

“Don’t remind me. . .”

Izaya let out a chuckle, [Reader] letting one out too but then he left. [Reader] crouched down to let out a small prayer, that’s when something fell out of their pocket. A small clank, they turned to see what it was and there was a key. The key was weirdly shaped, but that’s when their heart dropped. Was it. . .? They grabbed it and tried their luck, they went to the lock that was still around Saki’s body, but the key in, and turned it. To their horror, the lock opened. It was a skeleton key and if that was true, that means they had the key to everyone’s survival in their pocket.

“I-if they find out. . .I’m dead for sure!”

They shut the lock and looked around, there was nobody in sight so hopefully, nobody saw. Except someone did, someone who was starting to develop a personal infatuation towards [Reader]. They shook their head and sped to the group, meeting Izaya who was waiting for them. With that, all of them were inside and the door behind [Reader] was closed shut. They all were waiting for some kind of gas to hit them, but nothing did. The door at the end wasn’t locked, and when they opened it they came to see a table with 14 plastic water bottles and a note in the middle. They could rest easy for the time being. Izaya picked up the note, skimmed the contents, and left it at that.

‘ Congratulations for making it this far! Hope all 14 of you understand your purpose now.’

It seemed that all 14 were to survive. He left the note for everyone else to read which only made their mood all that more upsetting. Mikado grabbed water for all of them, helping Masaomi drink a little considering he was beyond broken and had no motivation to do anything. [Reader] grabbed two water bottles and handed the other one to Shizuo. He hesitantly took it and mumbled a small,

“Thanks.”

“No problem, listen. . .I won’t press you for details if you don’t want or can’t say, I know the card may have told you something along the lines but. . .I’m assuming you can’t do anything to help us right?”

“Something like that.”

“Someone important to you?”

“Yeah, a girl.”

“ A lover?”

“No, a friend. She’s still in school. Funny enough, Izaya sent her after me at first. He fed her some lies about me and then she tried to hurt me, but once the confusion settled down we became quite close. She’s like a little sister to me. Her name is Akane, and now some bastard has her, and I can’t do any-!”

“It’s not that you can’t do anything, I’m sure you can. It’s just a risk you can’t take, don’t worry I know that feeling. I’m not defending the people who have us here locked up but, I can say one thing, we can’t keep relying on someone else to help us. It’s not a bad thing to look out for yourself, selfish or not. It’s also not a bad thing to ask for help either, but at some point, we need to understand that we have to do it ourselves. Sorry for the rambling, I guess I wanted to talk to you. I’ve chatted with everyone here at least once, you were the only one missing.”

“What about those two?”

Shizuo pointed to Haruna and Takashi, who was in their corner.

“Call me mean but they don’t look like someone I want to talk to. Besides, Namie told me some information and despite me not liking them already, I’ll play it safe.”

“Fair enough.”

Small talk was made between the two of them, but some time did go by. Their conversation was cut short when ‘click’ was heard. They turned to the sound and realized that the door was opened. The hallway was decently lit up, but then it branched out into two areas with doors at the end of the paths. Before the two-way path, in the middle was an arrow pointing to the directions with the roles on them. To the left was the ‘Builder, Copycat, Sinner, Guilty, and Blind.’ The right had had; Fool, Savior, Condemned, Defender, Observer, and Scientist.’

“Well, I guess this is where we part ways?”

“ Yeah, I’m sure another game is ahead. Stay alive, will you?”

“Sure.”

Shizuo and [Reader] bid their goodbyes and went into their respective paths. Before [Reader] could advance, Izaya grabbed their hand.

“Word of advice, try not to attract the attention of Aoba too much. He’s quite perceptive and made quite a display when he went through his trial. I wouldn’t want him taking advantage of you, so if you find yourself in a trap always look out for yourself. See you on the other side.”

“ W-wait-?”

By then, Izaya had already left, leaving [Reader] confused. Did he assume or know what the next trap would be? They didn’t dwell on the fact for too long, remembering a panicked mindset would lead to rash decisions. They proceeded to walk towards their door but stopped. The ‘shhh’ sound was heard, and when they looked back, they saw that the whole hallway was filling up with gas.

“Again? Son of a b….ch. . .”

Sleep overcame everyone.

When Izaya Orihara awoke, he had a hard time understanding the change of scenery. Two members were missing, but as far as they were concerned, the others and himself weren’t in the room. In fact, for once it was a free open space area that they could explore. Interesting. Everyone started to come to, Masaomi awoke and quickly realized that the ones missing were his friends, Anri and Mikado.

“Mikado!?Anri?!”

“Calm down, we’ll find them.”

Masaomi turned to see Izaya awake and oddly enough, reassuring him. Gross.

“Why should I trust you?”

“You’re right, why should you trust me? Then again, you can only trust me. Namie already said she wasn’t going to help and Shizuo can’t, or someone he knows gets hurt. Your only option is me, Masaomi, like it or not.”

He couldn’t argue, Izaya was right like always. Namie rested her head against the wall. She was quite pissed, she didn’t have to split up with Seiji before so why now? It certainly didn’t help that Seiji was with [Reader] who didn’t like the two. Shizuo however, did offer to help. It seemed that there were some things he could do. The room they all were in was different, it wasn’t locked and it was much more spacious. In the middle was where they all were, but hallways were long and vast and surely led somewhere. Masaomi turned and announced his plan,

“Let’s split up. We each take different routes and if we find something yell. We’ll find you.”

“Fine.”

“Alright.”

“I’m not helping you-”

“If you don’t, we’ll stay here longer and who knows if Seiji is being tested again. You’ll see him faster if you work with us.”

“. . .Fine.”

Well, that certainly was one way to inspire Namie to assist. They split up and went to a different hallway, opening doors left and right but to no avail, they couldn’t find them. Mikado started to wake up, his body was quite stiff but he soon came to realize why. He was suspended up in the air and when tried to lift his arms, he couldn’t. Metal contractions were restraining his movements and there were four in total, each around his elbows and knees. The most frightening thing about it all was that sharp feeling that he felt, looking down he came to the reason why. On the ground in front of him were four jars each filled with blood. Upon closer inspection, he saw tubes trailing from the jar to his limbs. He was being drained of blood. The worst of it was Anri, who was in front of him. She was slowly waking, but that didn’t stop her peaceful face to turn into one of fear. They both were being tested. She turned around but could not find a room similar to the one she was in during the previous traps. She was all alone.

“M-Mikado!”

“Anri!”

“I-I’m going to get you out of here okay!”

The same ‘click’ that was heard over and over again came up, followed by a voice.

“Mikado Ryugamine and Anri Sonohara. Ikebukuro certainly became a wild and crazy place right? The boy who moved from the countryside to enjoy that city life and the girl who always lived here, but rather observed the world through a different perspective. I’ll cut it short, okay? It seems as if this is a literal definition of leeching off of others. As you can see, Mikado is suspended in the air by a contraption that is being held by a level of sorts, sorry the schematics weren’t exactly something I was too concerned with. Anyway, the goal is to hit the target which is wired to the lever, once hit the lever will flip releasing poor Mikado from his trap. That’s all fine and dandy, but the target is quite high up and heavy with no other items to hit it with, it might be hard. This is why I propose a different tactic, consider it a more interactive experience. Cut Mikado with Saika, we’re always watching so granted once I see it happen myself I’ll release him from his trap. Oh right, forgot about the trap, sorry! He’s being bled dry, normal blood count ranges from 1.2 to 1.5 gallons of blood. He’s bleeding from four different areas in his body so perhaps you don’t want to wait around too long. As of now, he’s been bleeding out at a steady rate but once this videotape ends, the rate will be doubled and I don’t think you want to take that chance. Funny, I said I’d keep it short but here I am rambling. You’re so used to leeching off of others for your gain but it seems that with Mikado and Masaomi, you care for them. Just a small cut and you can keep him next to you at all times. Doesn’t that sound great? If you don’t want to go down that route, the level is always an option but who knows how to hit it. Maybe if you cut your arm off you can use that! Best of luck, Saika.”

That conversation sounded a bit too familiar, but with who?

“Anri, c’mon just cut me!”

“N-No! I-I can’t!”

“Anri, please!”

She could, but would she? Leeching off of others and viewing the world through a second lens was always her thing. Her friendship with Mika was fake, using each other to benefit one another but that didn’t change the feelings she had for her. She was still a friend and all their moments were treasured, that’s why she was so worried when she went missing.

“No. . .I can’t. For once, I made friends with no strings attached. It’s something true, not masked by lies or ulterior motives. I showed the real me to you both and even then, you still wanted me. You wanted the real me, so how could I possibly do that to someone who has accepted me. Even the parts I hate myself!? I can’t, I just can’t Mikado.”

“As your friend, the one who sees the real you and loves you, I know that you’d never hurt me. Even if you were to cut me, I know you’d never use me against my will but if you did, I wouldn’t mind. Cut me, I don’t care-”

“BUT I DO! I CAN’T HURT THE ONE I LOVE!”

With a hoarse yell, I mean it wasn’t that often you heard someone like Anri scream, she took the drawstring of her black hoodie dress, wrapped it around her arm, 3 inches above her wrist, and using Saika, cut her handoff. Screams and cries of pain echoed throughout the room. Using her strength, she threw her hand and it missed the target by a few. She sprinted to pick up her severed and bloody hand, trying again and again until she managed to hit it. That wasn’t all, her screams were loud, which was good because they finally attracted the right crowd. Izaya was the one who found them, he shouted alerting the group. The others came rushing towards the door, Masaomi shouting Anri and Mikado’s names to get their attention. When Anri hit the target, the trap let go of Mikado who fell to the ground. She ran towards him to help take out the needles. Once she took out the last one, the tape played unexpectedly.

“Oh forgot to tell you, the door in front of you is rigged that when they open the door the trap will suspend him again and release a-”

The door opened, Masaomi calling out to them as Anri cried out,

“No Masaomi stay away-!?”

“Release a gun that is wired to shoot one bullet so keep the other’s at bay and-”

Mikado was suspended in the air again by the metal contraptions holding his limbs, the contraption slid out the barrel of a gun. His arm was forcibly lifted and the trigger was released. Shooting Anri straight in the back.

“Make sure you’re not in front of Mikado when it happens, wouldn’t want your self-sacrifice to be in vain.”

Blood spewed from her mouth as she fell straight to the floor. The contraption released Mikado from the air and the ones surrounding his limbs as well. Masaomi didn’t move forward as he slowly came to accept what happened.

“A-ANRI!”

Meanwhile, [Reader] awoke next to Aoba and Seiji. It seemed that the layout was freer and open this time, however it seemed strange? Despite being open, they were inside what seemed to be a pen of sorts? [Reader] turned to see Aoba was staring at them.

“Took you long enough, Haruna and Takashi are being tested.”

“O-Oh. . .”

In front of them was a deep cylinder-shaped container? Haruna was resting above it, and it seemed there was a ladder that led to the inside. There was a camera inside, so they all could see what was happening. There, Takashi was inside but he was held down. Arm and ankle restraints prevented him from being able to move. However, he was laying smack on the ground, which can't be good.

“Hello. Haruna Niekawa seems your idea of love is twisted and Takashi Nasujima, your love demographic are minors! Do you get off on the idea of children? What a vile pig you are, speaking of pigs. You’ll see the trap you’re in, it’s complex and I’ll get straight to the point. The key to your lock is somewhere you’d never guess. Haruna, you love Takashi don’t you? I’m sure you wouldn’t mind digging deep into your guts for him, would you? Not clicking? The key is hidden inside Haruna’s intestines. The blades that rest there, they’ll cut up pigs into thin meat but the guts have also been slightly liquefied. Can you find it in yourself to save him before he drowns in the guts of the animal he so closely resembles? Then again, he might leave you to die and cheat with another woman. We can’t have that can we Haruna? Live or die. Your choice.”

Haruna was quiet for a long time, Takashi was screaming at her to help. That’s when the machine was turned on and a pig came out sliding and the blade kept true to its word, the pigs were cut up and their guts were starting to fill up rapidly.

“HARUNA PLEASE! YOU KNOW I’D NEVER CHEAT ON YOU!”

Nobody was helping, Seiji was still unresponsive and Aoba didn’t care. If the audio was right, then that meant but if Haruna was that obsessed with him, would she kill herself trying to help him? [Reader] walked, climbed over the pigpen and made their way to Haruna. Haruna was only looking down at Takashi, using her small blades she cut her pink dress, revealing her stomach which had a black spiral on it. At least the place where it was located was marked. She didn’t seem to drag the knife across, she was deep in thought.

“Haruna. . .you’re not going to cut yourself open are you?”

“Who are you.”

“It’s not worth it, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice yourself for him. Listen, I don’t know him but if that tape is correct, he’s not worth it!”

“It is, the audio didn’t lie. I don’t care, I still love Takashi.”

This bitch is insane! [Reader] couldn’t process what she just said, was she for real?

“I’m sorry what? Don’t you understand, he’s not a good person. He’s only using you, cutting into your flesh to remove a key to free him? You wouldn’t, would you? The chances of you living aren’t high if you do that, don’t you understand! If you want to save him I won’t stop you but maybe, there is a different way to save him.”

“Are you saying I should just leave him? Or are you after him yourself?”

“What?”

“H-Haruna! Help me!”

“It seems to me as though you love him and you want him for yourself. You won’t have him, nobody will. You’re right, he’ll cheat on me and I might not make it. I wouldn’t do something so stupid as taking my life for him. If I die, he dies. If I live, he lives. Wait. . .I like that idea.”

She grabbed her blade and pointed it at [Reader],

“Don’t bother.”

[Reader] grabbed dug into her pockets, but then quickly let go and took them off. Which didn’t go unnoticed by Aoba. Haruna went down to the trap where Takashi was currently drowning. She embedded the blade deep into her stomach, dragging it across, and once a wide enough slit was made, dug her hands and rummaged around. [Reader] was horrified, threatening to vomit, they left the area and to the pen. There, on T.V, everyone was seeing the small intestinal pieces falling out of her wound. She managed to get what she wanted, the key. She showed it to Takashi who seemed hopeful, but then she threw the key over the trap. The bloody key landed on the floor, by [Reader’s] feet. She got on her knees and smiled, peering over to Takashi.

“ If I die, you die. At least we’ll be together from now on Takashi, I’ll still love you no matter what you do.”

With that, the tub was filling up with the both of them drowning in guts. If any of them had to say anything, it would be what the fuck. Unlike the other traps, everyone was fighting or at least putting,as up a fight. Haruna just, not only let him die but also killed herself as well. Seiji started to wake, but by then it was too late. They just left through the open door that revealed itself at the end. [Reader] just sighed, their expression was a defeated one. This was not supposed to go like this but it did. . .how boring.

When they reached the hallway, they opened the door of the room to see the other group already there. Namie rushed over to Seiji, while Aoba took a seat anywhere. Shizuo was well, in an even worse condition as before but his face didn’t compare to what Mikado and Masaomi exhibited. They were dead, well looked the part. Their faces were extremely pale but somehow their eyes were red and puffy, no doubt from crying too much. Izaya was sitting by himself and Anri, no. . .where was Anri?

“Hey. . .where is Anri?”

Mikado looked up and [Reader] instantly regretted that question. He looked like he was about to cry, which he did. Masaomi just threw his head back and hit the concrete wall.

“Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! FUCK! WHY THEM?! WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS!?”

[Reader] didn’t press for details and yeah they wanted to console them, but they figured that at least for now. This was one of those moments where a hug might sound like a good idea but could make things worse. They all sat in silence, that is if you ignored Namie and her whispers. After a while, [Reader] and Izaya made small talk.

“I take it, she didn’t make it?”

“No, she didn’t. Mikado blames himself for her death. What about you?”

“Haruna gave herself up. Well Takashi was being tested and Haruna was quite literally the key to his survival but she chose to kill them both. I wonder why she did it.”

“Haruna had always had a twisted form of love, but to put it bluntly. When she was a student he took advantage of her, groomed her, and when he got bored of her she fought back. She went missing for a while, then resurfaced for a bit since then has been pinning after him. I wonder what lies ahead.”

“Same here, are we going to keep playing until only one survives, or are we all done?”

“Who knows.”

Aoba noticed how close Izaya had gotten with [Reader] but to be a little problematic bitch like he usually was, he felt the need to say something.

“So, what’s in your pocket [Reader].”

[Reader] automatically paled and Izaya glared at him.

‘Ah, so that’s what Izaya meant when he said he was preceptive.’

This managed to gather the attention of everyone, which was the worst thing to occur. [Reader] gulped down and turned to Aoba, Lying would only seem more suspicious which is exactly what they didn’t want to happen.

“A key. It’s a key and if I’m right. It’s a skeleton key that I discovered I had since the ending of Saki’s trial.”

Masaomi perked up at this statement. They fucked up. They know they did, but Izaya didn’t expect honesty though. Figured they lie or try to play it off. Namie appeared amused and with a smile,

“You’ve been chewing out everyone when you had the means to survive the entire time. Mika’s death isn’t on us, it’s on you.”

“[R-reader] i-is this true?”

“I speak only the truth when I say I found it after Saki’s trial but yes, it’s true. I tried to use it with Haruna, but she wasn’t interested-”

“ I don’t care about all that! You’re telling me, you could have saved Saki this whole time? WE COULD HAVE SAVED MIKADO WITHOUT ANRI DYING!?”

[Reader] could feel tears threaten to spill, history repeats itself and it does hurt the same as it did before.

“ I told you, I only found it recently-”

“LIAR! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED US ALL! H-HOW CAN YOU BE SO SELFISH?!”

“If I could have saved you, I would have. How could I save Mika when I was in the room with you all, STRUGGLING to find a way out to help. Same with Saki, I hit Namie who was ridiculing Shizuo, I helped Anri and Mikado try to open the door. If I was there, I promise you Masaomi. . .I would have. Now that I have a reason, why am I getting shit on?”

“ [Reader]-”

“NO! FUCK! WHY IS IT WHEN I FUCK UP WHEN I HAVE A CLEAR REASON AS TO WHY I DIDN’T DO SOMETHING NOBODY LISTENS TO. I COULDN’T OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR SO ALL OF THEM DYING ISN’T MY FAULT! OH, BUT WHEN PEOPLE LIE, CHEAT, MANIPULATE, OR DO THE SAME THING I DID IT’S OKAY?! I’m just so fucking sick and tired, why is everyone against me?!”

“The guilty party usually get emotional when confronted-”

“IS THAT WHY SEIJI’S CRYING? IS THAT WHY YOU’RE ALL SAD?!”

Everyone perked down. [Reader] was certainly emotional but that’s what made Izaya let out a sinister smile. This shitshow was coming to an end.

“The moment I saw that key I should have thrown it, but I had hope. Hope that I would get to use it on the people who needed it! Who deserved a second chance! God, I’m so stupid! I should have thrown it away! Fuck! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!”

Unknown to all, gas was invading the main room. The same gas that had haunted them since the start of the game. Once more, one more trap, and it was all done. Just one more.

When Masaomi woke up, he saw [Reader] sitting across from him. They were wide awake but their expression was one of defeat. They looked mentally unstable. There was no tape in sight and no speakers, it was just the two in a single room with the door to their exit locked. He didn’t know what to say and after a nap, he calmed down a bit. It didn’t erase the events that transpired, but it did make him feel guilty for his accusations. Sure, a key that unlocked any trap was amazing but he knew from experience that there was no use trying to open the steel rooms that separated them at the beginning. Even if they had helped, that door was an obstacle so there was no point in arguing. An apology was in order but somehow Masaomi couldn’t muster the energy to say one or say anything for that matter.

“Can I tell you something, Masaomi?”

“Uh. . .”

“I’m starting to remember a bit, I just wanted to tell you something. Before I moved to Ikebukuro I had a friend. . .”

A story. Nothing too serious, just a story. [Reader] had a normal lifestyle, nothing too over the top. They weren’t poor, nor were they rich. They weren't the loser club that was being bullied, nor were they popular. They were in the middle, average. Open-minded, but that was about it. They had a friend, a lovely friend. They did what all friends did, gossip, talk, share media like memes, jokes, pictures, watch movies, have sleepovers, join the same clubs, crush over people, even though it was average they loved it and it was theirs.

“So I met this boy. . .”

“ A boyfriend, really [Friend]? Your parents will kill you if they find out”

“Which is exactly why [Reader], you aren’t telling them.”

“Obviously, but where did you meet them? I thought you hated all the boys at this school.”

“Well, I was talking to Ari’s group and they introduced me to someone!”

“Ari? Isn’t she super popular but also well known to hang around gangsters?”

“ Well yeah, but I promise you he’s different! He’s a real sweetheart, not too bright but he’s not dumb either.”

“Listen, I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret-”

“ I won’t! Geez, you sound like my mother. Listen, he’s super nice and sweet. A rare breed compared to Ari’s boyfriend. Listen, Ari said if I was cool enough they'd let me join their group. I know you don’t care much about that but if I do this, I’ll be able to do a lot more for us. Promise me you won’t say anything. Please!”

“ [Friend] listen-”

“Promise me!”

“. . .Fine, I won’t say anything as long as you’re safe.”

“ I will, but remember don’t tell anyone.”

Days went by, they stopped hanging out after school because their friend started to go out with Ari and her group a lot more. Their boyfriend was. . .weird. He seemed nice, but their friend would act strange in class. One day after school, they apologized to [Reader] and headed off with Ari. It was a letdown, it had been almost a month since they hit up that dessert shop, and [Reader] planned on taking them, but they chose to hang with Ari. With nothing left to do, they walked home. Their mother was making dinner but noticed that they arrived earlier than most.

“What’s wrong? You didn’t hangouts,, with [Friend] today?”

“Nah, they got a new group so they’re chilling with them.”

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous they found new friends?”

“N-No. . .”

“Good, because I didn’t raise you like that. They’re allowed to have other friends, you know that right?”

“I know that but it still hurts when you forget about your past friends-”

“Friends come and go, besides you can always meet a new group yourself and then [Friend] would get all upset. Being jealous is not a good look, now get ready for supper.”

A common occurrence in their household. It’s been a month since they got a boyfriend and [Reader] was certainly worried. They were sometimes missing class, showing up with bruises, sometimes not even having lunch, but hanging out excessively with Ari’s gang.

“Hey, do you think maybe you should stop?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well I mean, you’re never really there anymore but you also don’t look well. You’re never in class and when you are, you’re covered in bandages-”

“You’re jealous? Wow. I thought you were happy for me, I’m finally doing something with my identity!”

“You’re putting yourself in danger! Is it, is it your boyfriend? Is he hurting you?”

“He hasn’t laid a hand on me!”

“So who is hurting you?”

“That’s none of your fucking concern!”

“Is it Ari?”

“No, she hasn’t done anything to me!”

“So then who? Who is hurting you?”

“It doesn’t matter! You’re no longer my friend [Reader]!”

“[Friend]!”

With that, they started to hang out with Ari more and her friends leaving [Reader] all alone. [Reader] tried telling their mom what happened, but it was turned into a lecture.

“[Friend] is living their life, no use looking in the past. Besides, as painful as it is to admit it, sometimes we hold other people from growing.”

Another pointless conversation turned into a fucking lecture. The last straw was when [Friend] showed up to class with a black eye, it didn’t help that they were avoiding [Reader] like the plague. [Friend] was going to hang out with their boyfriend after school, so they took that chance to go to their house. Their mom opened the door, confused by the sudden appearance.

“Oh, [Reader]! I haven’t seen you in ages, what brings you here?”

With that, they spilled everything. The real reason they weren’t friends anymore, their condition, their boyfriend and their desire for new problematic friends. Their family was in shock, that made sense as to why they would wear excessive makeup or come home late. They thanked [Reader] for telling them that and they would take care of it. If only they knew, that following week [Friend] confronted [Reader], well mostly yelled at them.

“I told you and this is how you repay me!? I did this for us!”

“How does this benefit us?”

“If Ari liked me I could have vouched for you! You would have been popular too!”

“I didn’t ask to be popular!? I was more than okay where I was! You were getting hurt too, I did this to help you!”

“I didn’t ask you to help me! My parents took my phone, Ari wants nothing to do with me, my boyfriend is in jail, and I might be homeschooled all because you couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut!”

‘Ah, so I’m the bad guy. . .?’

It didn’t help that [Reader’s] mom made it their mission to remind their child about the situation.

“What you did was wrong, you don’t break a friend's promise you know! Besides, their mother tells me that their mental health has been declining. Why didn’t you stop to think about what could happen? If something happens, it’ll be your fault [Reader]!”

After graduating high school, [Reader] began going online and managed to meet someone online, someone by the name Nakura. It didn’t take long before the chatting ensue and the oversharing. The pressure from their mother was too much, deciding enough was enough they took up Nakura’s advice on moving to Ikebukuro. When they did, it was a wild and chaotic time that they didn’t message them for a whole month. They settled in, got a stable job, and after chatting for a bit, decided to meet.

[Reader] wore nothing too grand, casual clothes but something that fit well with their aesthetic. They were sitting in a booth at a local cafe when he showed up. This all happened in a time before people decided to send pictures or facetime online to make sure they weren’t meeting up with a creepy stranger, but he seemed to look legit. He looked young as well, his hair was well kept and despite the warm temperature, he wore a black parka with fur. Once he saw them, he walked over to them and introduced himself.

“I’m Nakura, I take it you’re [Reader]?”

“Yeah, sorry for not contacting you earlier, it had been a chaotic time as of late.”

“Of course, no problem. Well, what would you like to do?”

The entire day was spent chatting, walking around Ikebukuro as Nakura showed them around. Towards the end, he took them to a nearby rooftop area. [Reader] was a bit weirded out by it but tried not to pry.

“This is a place I go to unwind, it’s relaxing isn’t it?”

“Yeah it is. . .”

“I’ll be honest. I hated today. You were horrible company, always agreeing with me or apologizing, really dampening my mood.”

“Huh?”

[Reader] was taken back, was this the Nakura they had been chatting with the whole time?

“You’re just as boring in person as you are online. All you ever say is sorry and agree to avoid fighting, really makes you wonder if your mom held some truth to what she said, wouldn’t you agree?”

Boy oh boy does trauma pile up. Had they been with their mom the entire time they would have agreed but this was a stranger who they trauma dumped on plenty of times. Enough was enough, after YEARS of hearing the same thing they needed to be heard.

Getting up they turned to Nakura,

“I’m done. I’m done with the same fucking shit over and over again, be the bigger person but were they the bigger person first? No! Nobody was! My mother was always giving her input in situations she never experienced, always making it seem like I was the fucking villain when I fucking wasn’t! ‘If they do this it’s on you!’ Like hell it is! I’m not the dumbass who thought popularity was the best thing that I started putting myself in harm's way! And ‘I raised you better, if I want to be jealous I’ll fucking be jealous. I have every right to these feelings anyway! You’re right, I always agree to avoid discussion because what's the point of talking to a brick wall! Always be kind and always be nice, be the bigger person, and put others first, but when did they put me first?? Yeah, I always apologize for being kind and courteous because it was engraved in me that I should always please others, but not anymore! I don’t care if you hated today or if I was boring-!”

“Doesn’t that feel better?”

“Boring because who do I think you are, I’m getting upset over someone I met online-wait what?”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s still pretty annoying when you apologize for everything but doesn’t it feel better to let your true feelings out? Now imagine if you let it out at that moment. Wouldn’t that feel even better?”

“B-but-”

“If you did, that wouldn’t be polite. It wouldn’t be proper etiquette, it wouldn’t be right. Would it? I disagree, I think we pay too much attention to labels rather than actions. Like you said earlier, jealousy isn’t bad. It’s natural, it’s only bad when it makes you act out but having it, in general, doesn’t make you a villain. Humans are so quick to decide what's good and what's bad, what’s proper and improper, what’s human and inhuman. I’m not debating against moral code, but I am saying that we make things out to be bigger than needed.”

“I’m sorry, are we having a debate about human nature?”

“I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Izaya Orihara. Nakura is just an online name I use mostly for chat rooms. The thing I love most is human behavior. I love to see humans act in all sorts of ways. I guess you can say you’re one of the lucky few that managed to meet me when you needed it the most. It seems to me that you have a habit of trying to help and please everyone, it wouldn't hurt to hear a no from you once in a while. I can fix that.”

All in all, it felt like a fever dream. Meeting Izaya. His ideas were strange and it certainly didn’t help [Reader] that they would see him occasionally at their workplace, or on the streets, or at their favorite sushi joint, basically everywhere. As [Reader] tried to understand his behavior, he helped them embrace what he called, the true human.

“Most humans are afraid or say certain things in fear of being judged or appeasing others. [Reader], would you do me a favor?”

“No.”

“There, now you’re getting the hang of it. Most respond with ‘what kind’ and then decide afterward if you were to say ‘no’ right off the bat, well they’d give you a look. Saying no isn’t bad, you don’t owe anyone anything and aren’t entitled to help them. Being honest isn't a bad thing.”

“So be more honest?”

“Let me explain it better, I love all humans and human behavior, even the ugly parts we don’t show everyone. Being human, is being able to have free will and choice. I like to observe what they choose to do, what they say, how they act in a certain situation, and more. Both good and ugly sides of humanity, being able to coexist with them is what being human is about. Morals still stand, but being able to act within that range is what makes humans, humans. Act within the full capacity of what you can. Be free, you’ve earned that much by being human.”

“So make my own decisions within that free range of normal behavior and morals.”

“You got it.”

Days passed from that conversation but they still kept in contact. [Reader] managed to meet a lot of people aside from Izaya during their stay in Ikebukuro and it was much easier to communicate with them. Taking in what they learned from Izaya, they were able to stop apologizing as much and agreeing. Offering points here and there that led to an effective argument. They were working a late shift, almost 12 hours in and they were ready to leave. Until their boss arrived and asked if they could stay longer.

“No.”

“O-Oh. . .do you mind if I ask why?”

“I do.”

“You see we don’t have anyone else-”

“I understand, but I’ve been here since 8 a.m and I was supposed to get off 4 hours ago, I only stayed because I had nothing better to do and I had to wait for the other worker. I’m done. Find someone else.”

“L-listen this behavior isn’t-”

“Would you like everyone to know that you like overworking your employees? I could easily inform the higher-ups that you don’t respect the times you laid out for your employees.”

“N-no need.”

“I see. Well then, see you tomorrow.”

[Reader] left their workplace, but their heart was racing. This certainly was a first. They were so scared, the old them would hesitantly agree and come to regret it soon enough. They liked the idea of being able to say how they felt without their mother hating them for what they did. Turning something reasonable into a lecture about poor behavior. They went to find Izaya who congratulated them on their achievement. It didn’t take long for their friendship to turn into something else, well at least hinted at it. He checked up on them a lot more, went to their work often enough, or dealt with business near them. Picking them after work to hang out with them, observing people. After a few months, Izaya proposed an idea.

“A game? What kind?”

“Something extreme, you can consider it a survival game.”

“Like in those survival mangas and shows?”

“Something like that. When you dig deep you can find some connection between all of the players or in some cases, it is an unlucky batch. We can set up trials and pin them against each other, their survival at stake or in some cases, someone else.”

“Where would we get the people for it?”

“I know some, don’t worry about those details. The main thing would be their reaction during the whole thing. We could give them something, a clue as to why they’re here but I could care less about that.”

“I get it, you want to observe what they do to survive right?”

“Bingo. Above all emotions, the strongest one is fear. Fear dictates our lives, we’re too scared to take risks so we miss out on the things we don’t like. Take in case this survival game, humans are naturally scared of death for many reasons. You don’t know what lies ahead, you’re scared of how you die, where you end up, and it’s a spiral. When you put two people against one another in a game where their life is at stake or someone they care so much about, fear takes over. I want to see what they do to save themselves or others. What lines are you willing to cross, can you remain the same person you were at the beginning, and can you accept what you become as a result of it. That’s the purpose of this game.”

“That makes sense, so Izaya. Do you want help?”

A whole two years of planning, stalking, investigating, and getting ready. [Reader] looked over at the list they’ve compiled and read the names. They were ready, they memorized their schedule to find the perfect way to kidnap them and put them in the warehouse that they had built for this. As they set up, Izaya gave [Reader] a key.

“What’s this?”

“Your test.”

“I’m going to be put in a trap?”

“Yes, we all are, however, your trap isn’t physical. Two years is a long time but not enough, your trap is simple. That key will unlock any trap out there. Your test? How long can you go without freeing someone with that skeleton key?”

“You think I’ll save someone?”

“Who knows, that’s why it’s your trial. From the people we’ve collected, we have those who look out for themselves and may prove to be more harmful than the trap itself, those who have ulterior motives or have their people they want to save, and then those who want to save everyone. Who knows, maybe one of these players will pull at your heartstrings and you’ll save them. Well, are we ready?”

“I am.”

“Perfect, so let the game begin.”

Izaya, along with the others, was starting to wake up but there was no trap. Everyone was still okay, safe, and sound. Free reign to look and explore. It seemed as if they were in the common area of a warehouse. Based on the outside surroundings, they were still in Ikebukuro so they hadn’t gone far. As far as everyone was concerned, all the doors were still locked but they were able to walk freely now. There was a timer on the wall that had already counted down for some time. They only had 15 minutes left. After a while, Izaya stood up, the timer was down to 10 minutes,

“Alright, I think that’s enough.”

Everyone perked up at what he said. It was coming to an end.

“They should almost be done there so allow me to congratulate every one of you guys. You all did a wonderful job on surviving but most of all, a great job entertaining me. This has been fun.”

“So you’re the one behind this?”

Aoba replied, yeah there was the emotion behind it but he suspected it already. Namie however was conflicted. Yeah, she had been expecting it to be him but with him being a player it all seemed a bit off-putting. Shizuo was pissed but was right of course. From the beginning, he suspected it was Izaya all along. Mikado saw it coming as well, but he had no strength to do anything.

“SO IT WAS YOU! YOU’RE THE ONE HOLDING AKANE HOSTAGE THIS WHOLE TIME?”

Shizuo was walking towards Izaya,

“Yes, and she is still in my possession. I have a wire on me so if I say the command they will shoot. I’d think twice about hurting me. You don’t know where she is still, so I suggest you calm down. Let me explain it to you, this was just to amuse me and to appease my curiosity.”

“Why us?”

“There was no reason, we designed it so that you would assume you were here for a reason. It was all theatrics really, but it made it oh so fun!”

“We?”

“Oh, it hasn’t clicked yet? I wasn’t working alone.”

Masaomi paid attention to [Reader’s] story, but he was beyond horrified. They were behind this.

“The place is rigged to blow up when the timer reaches 0, but I can’t bring myself to leave any of you here. I know we haven’t known each other for long but, it was nice meeting you. There was no real reason we kept you here, it was more to see your responses and reactions to a situation that was tailored towards you. You beat yourself up for not having the courage and everyone judges you for it. Including yourself. I can’t judge, I ran away from my house because some stranger online told me to. I never would have guessed that, that the person would be Izaya and that we would get so close. Well, whatever. Here.”

[Reader] tossed Masaomi the key to unlock the door.

“You already know of my trial, so I failed. I do, however, want to say that I don’t mind saving you. I truly care for everyone, a little too much if I may say so. I’d always agree to prevent things from blowing up in my face, keep promises even when they were harmful, be the mediator between everyone and I’d say this all started because of my mother. When I got older, I started to realize that it was a bad thing but I still couldn’t stop, Izaya helped me though. To accept the ugly parts of humanity.”

Masaomi took the key but turned to face [Reader] one last time.

“Are you going to stay?”

“I have no intention of dying Masaomi. I will, however, flee and never come back. There will be no evidence or record of what happened aside from your memories. I want to say there was a fair chance, but there wasn’t. I’m sorry, I wished we met under different circumstances but we didn’t. I will, however, say one last thing. We all die someday so try to die without regrets. I want to say that fear was a driving factor in some of your decisions, but after seeing Anri, it seemed that she was content with the sacrifices she made to save her friends. Don’t waste that.”

Masaomi just unlocked the door and left, entering the room everyone was in. Izaya was still safe but he seemed pleased with the events that transpired. He pulled out a remote from his pocket and pressed the button that unlocked all the doors. Nobody wasted a second before leaving.

“Oh, Shizu-Chan, Akane is in the green storage around the corner.”

Shizuo wasted no time rushing over to the location. [Reader] left the room and was reunited with Izaya.

“How did it go?”

“I gave him a sappy speech and that was it. I expected more of a conversation but at the same time, they’ve been through a lot. Did you get enough footage of what happened here?”

“I did. Thank you, [Reader].”

“No problem, also how do you think he’s going to react? Y’know, when he finds out.”

“ I don’t know but I don’t want to risk a fight so I suggest we leave as well. There is a camera in the location so I should be able to see what happens after. Let’s go, [Reader].”

They both took their leave to a safe location away from the bombs’ point of impact. Shizuo found the room and wasted no time in busting the door open. When he did, however, he was met with a puppet instead. He was confused but there was a tape already there to do it one last time.

“Are you piecing two and two together Shizu-Chan? Akane was never captured. I quite like my connection with the Awakusu group so I didn’t want to push my luck with that one. The dummy made a very convincing performance wouldn’t you say? How does it feel to know that you could have saved all those people?”

The recording was cut short because Shizuo destroyed it. What followed along were screams of anguish and disappointment. The bomb did go off, but nobody was close enough to it so they all lived. Were they all mentally stable? Probably not. Shizuo had to live with the guilt, even though he was manipulated, it didn’t make it hurt any less. Masaomi and Mikado had to continue their life but there was no one there to support them. Mikado stayed in the hospital longer due to his injuries, but both were put into therapy. Namie, well she couldn’t locate Celty’s head so she had to deal with Seiji who also was going insane. Aoba managed to get his mouth healed and went on his own. Everything returned to normal and the warehouse along with the bodies were all burned down so there was no evidence that could point them to Izaya and [Reader] being the guilty party. About three years passed, [Reader] and Izaya were still together, that much hadn’t changed.

“Hey, Izaya? This whole thing has me thinking again if I were in a trap like Saki, would you save me? Probably not right?”

Silence.

“I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

“Now I know you’re lying.”

“You may think so, but I mean it. You’re the only person I met that sees me for what I am, a human. You’ve come a long way than you give yourself credit for. You manage to put me in my place when I need it but you happen to see me behind all my antics. I’m serious, [Reader].”

“Oh, it's still a bit weird to hear that from you of all people but I’m glad. So, when is the next game going to start?”

“Soon. Patience is a virtue after all.”

“Say. . .do you wish to play a game, Izaya?”

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ddarker-dreams · 4 years

Text

In Your Eyes. Yan Izaya x Reader [COMM]

warnings: izaya orihara counts as a warning if im being honest. dude’s a jerk. word count: 3k.

7:12 PM.

This isn’t the time of day that Izaya would normally close his services. Not when most of his clientele operate under the cover of night, crawling out from their day jobs and towards him. Izaya’s second monitor is a testimony to that. Message after message flooding in, notifications going ignored after a brief glance. The inquiries have a wide range. From a businessman wanting to know if the wife in his loveless marriage is cheating on him as he suspects, to the yakuza seeking information on a rival group that has been infringing on their territory. These people, deep as their pockets may be, occupy an insignificant role at the time.

Izaya’s eyes flicker to the live feed coming in from outside his apartment. One sight in particular catches his attention, his lips quirking into a self-satisfied smirk. He stands from the leather chair behind his desk, stretches, and makes for the kitchenette. There’s a spring in his every step as he walks, fingers running over a variety of untouched teas. Earl grey, matcha, chamomile. Chamomile might be best here, he thinks. Izaya busies himself with boiling the appropriate amount of water. Any second now, he just needs to be patient…

There’s a tentative knock on his door.

Izaya already anticipated having a most prized visitor paying him a visit. The door was unlocked in advance, but the excitement in his veins is making it difficult to decide on what approach to use. Calling over to come in, or answering the door himself…? He decides on the latter. Playing the indifferent game is growing tiresome. When he swings the door wide open, Izaya’s greeted by the sight of you. You must not have been expecting such a swift response, as a cute gasp leaves your lips. Ah, how endearing a sight.

Not one to stand in silence for long, he extends an enthusiastic greeting. “Ah, [First]-chan, what a lovely surprise. Come in, come in.”

You do as he instructs, an uncertain smile on your face. He notes how you scrutinize your surroundings. Eyes shifting to every wall, your posture remaining stiff as you remain focused on nothing in particular. After a moment of deliberation, your attention returns to him, and you bow your head.

“I hope I’m not intruding,” you let out a strained laugh, fixating on the soles of your shoes. “I’m sure you must be really busy, but, uh… I had some stuff I wanted to discuss. With you, that is.”

“You’re in luck then, as I’m not doing anything at the moment,” Izaya pauses at the high pitched sound that signifies his water is done boiling. From how easily startled you are by the noise, he almost wants to tease you. Not yet, he decides. There’ll be time for that later. “Would you like some tea?” You nod your head. “If it isn’t any trouble.”

He takes this time to recall the cryptic text message you sent him earlier. How much self restraint it took not to respond -- for the greater good, he reminds himself -- the contents catching his interest. You’ve been remaining purposefully vague. Is it to tantalize him? Keep him in the dark for some unknown reason? How interesting, the myriad of possibilities you bring to the table! Izaya’s own theories are plentiful. Hearing it from you beats anything his own imagination could concoct. It was a gamble that you’d actually come by today since he never responded, a test to see just how important this discussion is to you.

It must be vital if you took the train from Ikebukuro to Shinjuku to get here, as he’s aware you have classes tomorrow morning. The day after that is clear of any university activities if memory serves. This further proves the point to Izaya that whatever it is on your mind must be taking high priority. How his heart flutters at the thought, anticipation rising as he whips together the tea. Humans once again exercise their adaptability, moving along in new directions, with just a tiny push from him.

When he returns, cups of steaming tea in hand, you’ve already made yourself comfortable on his couch. Your legs crossed, hands clasping together on top of your lap. Izaya’s oncoming set up footsteps must not have been enough to alert you to his presence, so he clears his throat. Just like you did before, you startle, jumping in place. Izaya tuts at your reaction.

“It’s not good to keep zoning out like this, [First]-chan. What if you trip and hurt yourself on the way home? Now, I can’t be having that.” He teases while handing you your teacup. You wear a sheepish smile on your face, cheeks turning a rosy hue from his teasing. This might be the first time he’s ever seen you this out of it. Upon closer inspection, there are bags underneath your eyes, and your overall reaction time is sluggish. Hm…

Izaya takes a set beside you, likely closer than he needs to be, but you never protest. A loud sigh leaves your lips as you sink into his couch. “I sent you a text earlier, but I don’t think you ever saw it.”

He nods his head in confirmation. The chamomile seems to be working its wonders already, your shoulders slumping down further. Easing you up in his presence has never been a simple task.

“I’ve been thinking a lot recently,” you take another sip, wincing at how the hot liquid burns as it travels down your throat, “What I realized is that, maybe I do rely on others too much. When Miki went missing earlier this year, you said something similar, didn’t you? That there was a lot I couldn’t do. At the time, I didn’t want to believe you. I still don’t know if I do. So that’s why I wanted to ask if you still think that of me.”

So that’s what is haunting your mind? A budding identity crisis? He wasn’t expecting something as ordinary as this, feeling almost taken aback that you’d come to him on the topic. Maybe it’s hypocritical of him to think that way. He often finds himself thinking back to the first time you showed up at his office, replaying your words and expressions in his mind like a projector. It’s unlike Izaya Orihara to be a sentimental person, yet he recalls your first meeting with immense fondness.

- - -

Namie had almost dismissed you. She informed Izaya that there was no practical way you could afford these services, and that taking your appointment would be a waste of time for them both. A standard broke college student isn’t worth all the effort. And on a regular day, he would’ve been inclined to agree. Maybe it had been the boredom, as nothing of interest was brewing in Ikebukuro at the time. Whatever the reason, in retrospect, he’s grateful for the chance encounter.

“A missing person’s case?” Izaya glances down at the coffee table, where you’ve laid out numerous personal pictures. All featuring the same girl -- Yamato Miki -- who you’ve come here today to seek help for. The job feels familiar, while simultaneously being unlike anything he’s been asked for at the same time. Information for the whereabouts of unsavory folk isn’t a rare request. This falls into a different category. You’re not asking out of ill intent, or he would’ve picked up on that by now. You weren’t lying when you said you were worried about the wellbeing of your friend.

His eyes return to you shifting in your seat. “I’m curious. Why not go to the police about this instead of me?”

From how your nostrils flare, he can piece it together before you even verbalize a response. This is the first question of his to earn such a blatant reaction. Everything prior, you had responded to the best of your ability, trying to keep your emotions in check. You steady yourself with a deep breath.

“I’d gone plenty of times, and none of them seemed to care in the slightest! Miki… she has a bit of a record, you see. Nothing serious, she wouldn’t ever hurt anyone, just stuff haunting her from her teenage years,” your gaze lowers, fists clenching by your side. “Since she used to run away from home a lot, they think it’s something like that.”

Izaya sees the pieces of this puzzle falling into place. It’s been about ten minutes since you came in, explaining your story, and his interest is starting to wane. There’s nothing that sticks out to him as unique. Maybe giving you the time of day was a mistake after all, like Namie suggested. Still, the question remains, why go to him specifically? You, a seemingly upstanding citizen, must surely have better options.

He’ll entertain this charade a tad longer. It’s not like he has anything better to do.

“It’s not unreasonable to think that,” Izaya can’t help but agree with what the police had told you. The change in your demeanor is subtle, former timidity melting away. Greedy as it might be, he wants to see more of this unsightly side of you. So he continues prodding without relent. “People with troubled pasts such as your friend have next to impossible odds to overcome.”

Your jaw’s clenching, he can see the imprints of how hard your fingernails dig into the palm of your hands. It’s simple to play someone like you to his own tune, he muses. Izaya just about had his fill of this. Maybe he’ll put a last nail in the coffin for good measure. Will you curse at him? Explode and yell? Break down crying? Storm off without a word?

“Chances are, she got in way over her head, and is currently laying dead in an alley somewhere. Or maybe she is somehow alive! In that case, what will you do then? If she couldn’t rely on you, her supposedly closest friend, why do you think that is? She either doesn’t trust you as much as you thought, or was taking advantage of your kindness all along.” Izaya can’t help the smile that curls onto his lips. Now that’s the look of despair he wanted! Being confronted with a fate you knew all along, and yet tried so hard to ignore. Only to fail, to be drawn into a vulnerable position of reality--

“So what?” The tone of your voice is eerily collected. You take a deep breath, glassy eyes refusing to break contact with his own, a sense of resolve keeping you in tact. Izaya tilts his head at this conjecture, as if to invite you to elaborate further.

“So what if she might be as bad as you say she is? Miki is my friend. I don’t care for some arbitrary method of judging people based only on possibilities. I’ll see the truth for my own eyes and decide myself.”

Well… to be honest, he was expecting an entirely different reaction. For you to scold someone like him is borderline laughable, yet here you are, doing just that. So why does he find himself even more drawn to you than before? There’s been passion ignited inside you by his own hands, social etiquette thrown to the wayside. Instead of letting this newly lit fire run rampant, you control the flame, refusing to burn as he intended you to. Izaya Orihara has never been one to back down from a challenge. Maybe this isn’t a waste of time after all.

Izaya leans in, resting his temple on his fist. “Pray tell, [First]-chan, what would you do in the event that I’m right? And your precious friend is involved with stuff she shouldn’t be?”

“I’ll give her a good wakeup slap,” you place a finger to your cheek, considering the proposition. “Then chew her out for making me worry as much as she has. In the end, I want her to know that she can come to me with anything, even the worst she has to offer. That’s what friends are for.”

A mindset like this is idealistic to say the least. Optimism has never been a field Izaya has excelled in, as he bases things on concrete reality. Is that even the correct label for your way of thinking, he wonders? You’re not ignoring the possible truth, making excuses for her, or even considering enabling her poor behavior. No, it’s a strikingly unusual approach, that takes far more patience than most people have to offer. The shift in outward demeanor from soft-spoken to this unrivaled confidence backs it up further.

Izaya wants to know more about you. To peer behind the curtain that is your mind, poking and prodding at everything within reach. Seeing how much you can withstand before falling apart at his hands. It looks like you were wrong Namie, he thinks. This is turning out to be interesting.

“If that’s the case, I’ll lend you my help.”

You blink. “Y-you will…? But you just went on a tangent about how my ‘deadbeat’ friend isn’t worth the effort.”

“What can I say? Your impassioned speech tugged on my heartstrings, [First]-chan,” he coos, a wolfish grin spreading across his face. “Maybe I’m growing soft after all. Alright, now let’s start with you giving me your phone number--”

“Hold on!” you exclaim, putting up a hand. “I don’t need help from someone like you.”

Now it’s his turn to be thrown off by another person’s words. Maybe a taste of my own medicine, he thinks.

Here he was, figuring you’d grovel at his feet for help. Now that he’s extending a hand out of what you should perceive as goodwill, you… don’t want it…? There’s no quick, witty response. The cogs in his head are turning, trying to comprehend this bizarre situation, and coming up with nothing satisfactory. He hears what’s most definitely Namie struggling to cover up a laugh in the distance.

“Were you not just trying to convince me?” Izaya quirks up an eyebrow. That’s how he perceived your earlier lecture, as a way to bring him over to your side. For a rare moment, there’s no condescending lilt in his voice, only a genuine attempt to rationalize your actions.

You’re already moving on from this loss, picking the scattered pictures up and returning them to your handbag. “Not really. I just didn’t like the thought of you looking down on someone without really knowing anything about them.”

This time, Namie isn’t capable of muffling her laughter. Izaya sighs as he leans back into his couch. How troublesome you’re proving yourself to be. Do you not realize that a few phone calls from his behalf would be enough to ruin you for the rest of your life? Or maybe you do realize, and don’t care either way. Whatever the case, he’s not letting this go. It’s not everyday someone manages to leave him at a loss for words.

“So it’s back to the police then, hm?”

You shake your head at his guess, frowning. “I’ll just figure it out on my own. Thank you for your time, Orihara-san.”

Now you’re standing to leave. Turning your back to him, you make for the door, leaving Izaya to try and piece together what’s happening to him. Izaya follows after you, intent on changing your mind. Anything to keep you close so he can continue observing.

“What exactly are you planning on doing? It sounded to me like you had no leads or connections. I’m not sure how familiar you are with investigation work, [First]-chan, but you’re not off to a very good start.” Izaya calls over, successfully getting you to stop in place. It’s a relief to know he hasn’t lost his touch. You don’t look fully convinced, so he continues on.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re going to be helpless all on your own,” Izaya points out, your grimace growing deeper with every word. He’s getting somewhere, he just needs to reel you back in. “We wouldn’t want my earlier premonition to come true.”

“I guess so,” you agree without enthusiasm, lips pursing. Izaya can’t help but feel satisfied with your compliance. Then you continue walking towards the door. “I need to give it some more thought. I’ll call your secretary this evening.”

With that, you’re out of sight, the door shutting in his face. Hm. He doesn’t get the feeling you’re acting like this out of spite. No, you’re sticking true to your own convictions, trying to get a feel for how to best work things out. Izaya’s already planning to run multiple checks on you. He has a growing curiosity for knowledge on you that needs to be quenched. What school you’re going to, where you currently live, if you have a record--

“I can’t say I was expecting that,” Namie comments in her usual monotone. From the skin tightening underneath her eyes, Izaya can tell she’s still fighting back a smile. “Someone turning down your offer to help and lecturing you? I almost feel undeserving of such a wonderful sight.”

Izaya sighs and runs a hand through his dark hair. “I’m glad you enjoyed your boss being berated so much.”

“There’s almost nothing better,” she concurs with a nod. “When you’re finished standing there and moping, I already brought her social media up. I figured you’d want to see it after that display.”

This is enough to capture his undivided attention. The boredom from this week is a relic of the past, Izaya’s enthusiasm for human beings returning in full bloom. What a terrifying beast you’ve managed to awaken. You’ll make for a fascinating source of entertainment. He already finds himself looking forward to the next time you cross paths, Izaya confident in his ability to make this happen. He excels at interrupting the flow of people’s lives unprompted.

- - -

The rest is history, so they say.

Izaya’s whittled you down this far, creating a codependency that pleases him, a result of hard work on his behalf. You stare at him with doe-like eyes. Vulnerable eyes. Waiting with bated breath to see if he’ll confirm or deny your deepest concerns.

He wraps an arm around your slouching shoulder. "Now that you have me, what you are or aren’t capable of on your own doesn’t matter anymore. Isn’t that right, [First]-chan?”

“I... I guess it might be.”

#btw the title for this fic is just a reference to the weeknd #the lyrics felt somewhat fitting...#i kept listening to it when writing this #izaya #Izaya Orihara #orihara izaya #jojo's bizarre adventures #yandere izaya #yandere #yandere x reader #durarara #durarara imagine #yandere durarara #durarara x reader #yandere imagine #yandere scenario #my stuff #commissions

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