Welcome! I'm actually more proud of this story than I am of Disorder, so I hope you enjoy~

Downfall.

Izaya hadn't come back in a while. I hadn't seen him in months, and I was happy for that. I hated him anyway… Good riddance. I knew Tsuki was glad too, even though he didn't say so. Izaya's presence had always brought me lower than I need to be, and Tsuki hated when I was low… Too bad Izaya would be coming back soon. Everyone knew it. He'd disappear for awhile, but he'd always come back, for however little time he stayed.

He didn't belong in my reality anyway; he was just the creator of my filthy world… I almost felt bad for the godforsaken humans in his world that had to deal with him. Almost. I carried too little empathy, too much apathy. I hated humans anyway, in stark contrast to my creator.

Izaya made us a long time ago…not just Tsuki and I. In his dreams he fabricated Psyche and Delic; Tsugaru and Sakuraya; Hibiya and Shitsuo; Virus-138 and Psy-420… Each of us had similar faces in respect to who we were based upon, whether it be Izaya himself or some guy he referred to as 'Shizu-chan'…

I remembered now the hazy time before our reality had taken form and it was only the ten of us in our blank world. Hell, I was beginning to remember the time before Tsuki was existent and I was all alone in my own section of our inchoate reality. Oddly enough, we were only just beginning to remember these times, as if they'd been erased from our minds as a prologue to our true existence. We all knew we were made by Izaya, but rarely did we interact with every other creation ever since we were given pasts and lives to live. Since our world had been prepared for us to live in…

I never interacted with the other pairs' sections of our world, so the times we'd seen each other seemed few and far between… Never had I met Virus, Psy, or Sakuraya since our prologue, and I didn't know they existed until these memories began to come to light.

I found it pretty weird, then, when I found a letter waiting in my mailbox, crudely-drawn pink flowers colored childishly on the envelope. I couldn't help but be skeptical, and nearly threw the thing right out. Maybe it was just plain curiosity, but I looked at the note inside. It was from Psyche, which was even weirder considering I hadn't seen him in awhile and he knew I didn't like being around him – or anyone. He called it being grumpy; others called it misanthropy… It didn't really matter anyway.

It was an 'urgent' letter inviting Tsuki and I to Hibiya's palace to meet with our alternative selves to talk about something. It included the date and time and whatever other important information there was, almost as if it was an invitation to some kind of party. The letter reiterated it was important to come before ending with a smiley face and a signing of Psyche's name. I glared at the paper irately and tossed it in the trash. To me, Psyche was just annoying and childish… Whenever I was actually around him, I just wanted him to shut up. Then Hibiya…a prince, and someone I'd rather not deal with. I hated him almost as much as I hated Izaya himself, and the feeling was mutual between us.

Prideful piece of shit.

Anyway, I wasn't going. If Tsuki got a letter too, then he could go if he really wanted. I wasn't, though. Whatever it was that was important, Tsuki could relay it back to me if it really mattered so much… Knowing Psyche, it was probably something stupid like a secret surprise birthday for Delic or Tsugaru. I think he was closest to them, right? Whatever.

I was sitting in my room right then, and I had no intention of doing anything today. I wasn't sure if Tsuki would be coming over to visit my small apartment, and whether he did or didn't appear was just as well. I didn't care…

Sighing lightly, I closed my eyes. I wasn't too low today, and it was actually pretty nice. My 'normal' was pretty self-loathing, hateful, and pathetic. This was my 'happy': irritable, hateful, and a little less self-loathing, I guess. Still negative. Sometimes Tsuki could get me there to this place where I could smile without bitterness, but right now I had gotten there on my own. Maybe it was just a good day… I turned my head and looked at the clock. Whatever. No matter the case, I'd end up falling again at some point. I thought it was safe to say at that point that I'd never fully heal from the scars that were etched in my cold, hateful heart.

I gazed at the ceiling with bored, dull eyes. Maybe I'd actually go out today…get some tea and stand on that bridge Tsuki and I always went to; alone if Tsuki really didn't come to visit today. My mind wandering to nowhere in particular, time passed as I sat there, leaning on the head of the bed. A soft knocking on my door permeated my thoughts and I returned to reality to look at the door. Sighing, I swung my feet off the bed and stood, walking unenthusiastically to the door to open it for my only friend. Tsuki was waiting behind it, and he blinked at me once the door was open. A small, awkward smile curved his mouth. "U-um, hi, Roppi. How are you?"

"Fine…" I paused, contemplating, my gaze drifting towards my shoes for a moment.

"U-uh, do you…do you w-want to go and…?" I started slipping on my shoes before he could finish, and he stopped talking, just waited and watched. He stepped aside as I walked out the door and closed it behind me, pausing to lock it. He didn't say anything as I led the way down the hall to head outside, eventually leading him to the small café where we always got our whatevers, whether it was warm drinks or a small something to eat. Tsuki walked behind me, following like some obedient puppy. Sometimes that annoyed me a little, but for now it was fine; it wasn't like I'd let him lead the way anyway. Even though we'd been the café hundreds of times, I wouldn't have been surprised if he got us lost.

We got there pretty quickly; he asked me if I was hungry and I muttered that I wouldn't mind something to eat. He awkwardly ordered food, coffee, and tea – tea for me and coffee for him. While he did that I slid into one of the booths for a table by the window in the corner. I was gazing out of it when he came back with everything. He handed me my pastry and my tea, and for a moment or two we sat in silence while I put sugar in my tea and he took a tentative bite of his food.

"S…so…" he began, "…d-did you…get a letter too?…" He shifted as he spoke, as if it was a topic I wouldn't like. And of course I knew which letter he was talking about: the one I just mentioned; the one from Psyche.

"Yeah," I answered bluntly. "I threw it out. I'm not going."

He tugged uncomfortably at his beige scarf, eyes red as mine flickering behind the glass of his spectacles. "W-well…maybe…we should go…," he suggested quietly, not making eye contact. "I—I know you don't w-want to, but—but I feel like m-maybe it really is imp-important…"

I cradled my head with my hand, leaning my elbow on the table. I gazed dully at him while I stirred the sugar into my tea. "Why do you think that?"

"W-well…Tsugaru was the one who mentioned we should all get together in the first place… Um… A-and we've never all been called together before… M-maybe…it's actually something we should know about…"

"How do you know this was Tsugaru's idea?" I asked without interest and sipped at my tea. It needed more sugar; damn it.

"U-um, Psyche mentioned that it was his idea in—in my letter. He…he said that Tsugaru thought you wouldn't want to come…s-so…he told me to try and convince you…"

I paused in ripping a bag of sugar open, then continued. "Why Hibiya's castle, do you think?" My voice was flat.

"U-um, I—I don't know," he responded. He knew Hibiya and I didn't like each other in the least. "M-maybe just because it has—has the most room, and…and, u-um, maybe Delic was able to convince Hibiya to—to have everyone over…"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, I'm sure it was Delic who convinced him to let it happen." There was a pause, and I sighed.

"W-will you go, maybe?…"

I looked at him with a frown, then pinched the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes. "When is it happening again…?"

"Um, t-tomorrow…"

"…" I started eating my pastry, considering it. There was no question that I didn't want to go, but there was also the point that maybe, just maybe, there was a purpose that made it worth going. "What do you think is so important about it?"

He blinked, bemused for a second. "Oh, um…I…I'm not sure… D-do you think maybe it has to do with…with Izaya?… Or…"

I shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care…"

Tsuki bit his lip. "B-but…what if…?"

He couldn't finish before I cut him off. Honestly, he hesitated too much sometimes. "I'll go, though," I grudgingly accepted. "Just not long. And if something stupid happens, or someone gets too much on my nerves, I'm leaving…"

Tsuki brightened. "Oh! That's fine; I—I'm glad you're coming!" I gave a noncommittal grunt in response. Oh well… Turns out I was going tomorrow. How annoying.

I hope you liked the first chapter~ This is a short story like Disorder was, but it will be a bit longer.

Also, if anyone can come up with a better title than 'Downfall,' do let me know =7=

My first DRRR! one-shot I put up on here, Birth, was referenced in this chapter also~

Reviews are welcome; feedback is fantastic!