Disclaimer: Durarara isn't mine.

Anri had a wicked smirk on her face. She had finally taken control of all the Saika daughters. She had just successfully slashed Haruna Niekawa and taken control over her. She would now be able to make the 'Slasher' disappear from the nightly news. She mentally kicked herself for the whole debacle. She wished she remembered that she had slashed Haruna at an early age one night when the 'love' talk from Saika had become too much. She had no idea what Niekawa was trying to accomplish by making these nightly 'slash' attacks but now that she was under Anri's control she could be of some use in dealing with the cunt's stupid crush Takashi Nasujima. The fucking pedo was making it more and more difficult for Anri to remain inconspicuous at school and she was one step away from taking out Saika and slashing the man's neck open.

More importantly, Anri could bring her attention back to her true objective. Finding her 'sort of' friend, Mika Harima. While it was true that they both had only been using each other, she still cared enough for Mika's well-being to find out what happened to her. Anri held no delusions in hoping Mika was still alive. Her friend could very much be dead and it could very well be because of Mika's own foolishness. Anri hoped it was otherwise but she wouldn't be surprised if she found out that Mika had been killed somehow.

Seiji Yagiri would be the perfect place to start. The man had to be lying about not knowing what happened to Mika. She decided it was best to tail and to confront him at night. It should be very simple. Locate, follow, cut him with Saika, and then demand information on Harima's whereabouts. If Seiji had anything to do with Mika's disappearance then Anri had enough resources to arrange an accident. Preferably, having him killed in broad daylight by Niekawa so that the little slut would be out of her way too. Neikawa had informed her about being reclusive and solely focused on taking out anyone who hurt her precious Nasujima after Anri grilled her for information. She would make the perfect scapegoat. The girl was far too mentally damaged to be allowed near others anyway. She had been both horrified and disgusted with some of the things that Neikawa told her about her time with Nasujima.

It was fairly easy to track down Seiji. The man traveled around in the most expensive places that were known for catering to couples. Typically, he had bodyguards behind him so it was hard to miss him. If not for the man's caretaker, he would likely have been in jail or dead by now. Seiji acted annoyed at anything that didn't go his way and seemed to have a penchant for violence as a way to resolve any problems he faced. Anri spent a few days a week tailing them and decided to strike once he and his apparent girlfriend were alone in a park one night. The bodyguards were nowhere in sight at the moment. She expected they were surveying from afar. It was the perfect opportunity to demand answers.

"Yagiri Seiji-san, my name is Sonohara Anri." spoke Anri, interrupting the romantic mood between the young couple in front of her. Anri got straight to the point. "I've come for information on my friend, Harima Mika, the girl who has been missing for some months now. I'd like you to answer a few questions of mine."

Anri decided to be nice first instead of rash like last time. She hoped he would be more forthcoming with answers this way. Seiji didn't even turn from the girl held in his arms.

"I don't know anything about it." said Seiji in a bored tone of voice. Anri scowled. "Go away."

He had said it with such a disdainful tone of finality. As if Anri wasn't worth his time. Anri's scowl deepened. It seemed trying to be nice would get here nowhere. She would have to force the answers she sought. Anri turned behind her to see four muscular bodyguards in suits and dark shades come running toward her. They stopped a few feet from her. One of them, whom Anri presumed to be the leader, spoke-up.

"Girl, if you know what's good for you then walk away from him now." said the man rudely. "Otherwise, your safety will be at risk. Allow one of us to escort you away from here and there will not be any trouble."

It was a bluff. The men intended to take her to Yagiri pharmaceuticals and have their boss deal with the girl but Anri had no way of knowing that. The closest among them moved toward Anri. His intent was to surprise the girl and pin her in a submission move to knock her out then send her into the surveillance van to keep her incapacitated before bringing her to the boss. It was extreme but the boss didn't shit around when her brother's safety or when the possibility of the police uncovering their human experiments was at stake.

When the man came close enough, Anri released Saika from her arm while moving her arm across to her left side before she sliced at the man's sternum in a half-circle to the right side. It all happened far too quickly for the man to register and he was knocked down in pain at the event before any of the body guards registered what had happened.

'They had presumed to be dealing with a harmless girl.' Anri prepared for her next attack. 'Fools!'

Anri ran towards the closest bodyguard. The other three still hadn't fully registered what had just occurred. The surprise was written all over their faces. Anri held her blade with both hands and raised it above her before sending it downward in an arc as she made a vertical gash on her next victim. The man let out a cry and fell over in pain. This snapped the other two into attention. The third bodyguard charged at Anri, intent on taking her down with pure strength. He lunged at her as fast as he could. Anri twirled out of the way with expert ease to her right and made a simple cut on the man's back from where he had fallen.

'Stay down.' Anri ordered her new slaves telepathically. She simply wanted them out of the way.

Anri turned to the last one. She was ready to charge but stopped when she saw the man had pointed a gun straight at her.

"Don't move!" shouted the man, keeping his gun trained on her. "Put the sword dow-!"

Anri threw Saika straight at him. It spun in the air headed straight for the man. He ducked the attack just in time. He got up and repositioned his gun at Anri's forehead.

"Nice try!" snarled the last bodyguard. He tried to keep calm as he finally noticed Anri's glowing red eyes. The eyes of a demon… "It seems you're too dangerous to take back alive. I'll have to-"

He screamed in pain as an unexpected sharp object pierced the top of his shoulder and flew back toward Anri's hand. Anri was thankful that she had spent time mastering Saika's powers. It was because the sword had a mind of its own and was effectively controlled by her, the owner, that she was able to do that trick. Isaac Newton's theories of motion and gravity could suck it. The man was ordered to lay down on the floor where he bled on the grass like the others.

Anri turned back to Seiji. She half-expected him to have run off by now. What she didn't expect was to see him strike at her with a pen. Anri quickly avoided the jab by swiftly moving backward and struck forward with Saika in a frontal strike. Seiji missed the attack by inches and only because the girl behind him and miraculously pulled him away far enough so that the sword didn't cut him. Seiji appeared to fly into a rage. He broke out of the girl's hold and ran head first at Anri with the intent of taking her down so that he could go back to his romantic getaway in peace. Anri raised her sword upward and slammed the hilt of the blade on Seiji's forehead harshly. Seiji fell on his bottom as his vision became blurry from the dizziness he felt. The red-haired girl gasped in horror. Anri raised her sword intent on making a cut on Seiji to get him to start telling her what she wanted to know.

The red-haired girl blocked her path from Seiji and spread her arms out as if to protect him. Anri lowered her sword and looked at the girl in annoyance. She hid her surprise at the girl's uncanny resemblance to Mika. If not for the color of the hair and the eyes then she would've mistaken her for Mika. Anri frowned as she noticed the scars on the girl's neck. It was as if someone had cut her head off and re-attached it. A rather unpleasant thought…

Anri took a deep breath to calm herself from the adrenaline rush she had before fixing the girl with a stern gaze.

"Please step aside." said Anri curtly. The girl shook her head in response. Anri was growing agitated. "I have no business with you and I'd rather not involve you in this. I'm looking for someone and I'm fairly certain your boyfriend over there knows something about her disappearance."

The girl merely shook her head again. She clearly wasn't going to yield. Anri decided to raise her sword up in a threatening gesture yet the girl refused to relent to her demand. She simply shook her head a little faster and Anri noticed tears started trickling down from the girl's eyes. Her body was shaking. She was clearly afraid but wouldn't budge from her position. Oh sure, Anri could simply cut the girl and order her to move aside but considering the girl's resolve, Anri had to wonder if Saika's control would even work if this girl was so determined to protect Seiji. Moreover, Anri never wanted to cut someone who made no attempt at harming her or others and especially not someone defenseless. Despite the terrible background when growing-up, even Anri had morals that she lived by. This girl was beginning to remind her of herself five years ago when her father would strangle and beat her. That was not something she wanted to remember.

"P-please… S-s-stop." said the girl slowly; it appeared to Anri that the girl was having trouble forming the words. Either because of fear or something else, Anri was unsure. "A-Anri-san, p-please d-d-don't hurt Seiji-kun."

Anri stared. Had she heard that right?

'She knows my name?' thought Anri, surprised by the few words uttered from the redhead. Recognition flashed in Anri's eyes. 'How did I not realize it before?'

Anri hastily put Saika away and ran up to Mika hugging her. She couldn't help it! Mika was alive! She was here the whole time! Mika was here!

"I'm s-sorry f-f-for worrying y-you." stuttered Mika, caught in surprise by the embrace. Yes, they had been friends but Mika had never considered them particularly close. Mika had mostly used her to make herself look better. As the drug she had been taking began to wear off slowly, Mika realized that she hadn't even informed her parents that she would be gone. She realized that she must've worried everyone by disappearing out of the blue like that. "C-can w-we t-talk?"

"Of course!" replied Anri, wiping away the tears that had come out. The joy she felt giving her good cheer. She felt so relieved to find out Mika wasn't dead even though that didn't explain her aesthetic changes. What mattered was that she was alive. "After we get you to a hospital. I'm not sure what these terrible people did to you but they seem to fit the description of the same people allegedly responsible for the disappearances around Ikebukuro. Let's get you out of here, we can hide at my house and-"

Mika shook her head vehemently. Anri frowned once more. She briefly checked behind Mika to see that Seiji had been knocked unconscious from the strike to the head. It seemed the dizziness had made him faint. Anri's attention turned back to Mika.

"N-no, Anri." spoke Mika, slowly shaking her head. She was trying to get her mouth to work properly to get the words out. "I-I d-d-did all-all of thi-this willingly. I w-wanted to be with Seiji-kun. I-I t-took drugs that m-made me forget wh-who I was temporarily, I-I t-t-took drugs th-that made it hard for-for me to talk c-correctly, a-and I a-agreed t-to go through plastic surgery a-all s-so I could s-sp-spend time with Seiji-kun."

Anri looked at her in surprise. She had always drowned out the thoughts of peoples love because it had been so numerous, fake, and maddening for her to endure but when she focused on her friend and Seiji, she could hear her friends thoughts and how much her friend loved Seiji. Yet… this all seemed so wrong. Did Seiji even know who Mika was? It seemed that Mika didn't care for the circumstances so long as she got her time with Seiji.

"You love him?" asked Anri, raising an eyebrow. She knew Mika had feelings for Seiji but this? What was wrong with her? Why would she go through such lengths just for him? "He's violent and so self-absorbed. How can you have feelings for him?"

"I-I know it s-seems s-s-stupid." said Mika, her face slowly breaking into a gentle smile. "B-b-ut I love h-him. H-he's just m-misunderstood. He can g-get violent at t-times b-but he isn-isn't a bad person. S-so p-please l-let me have th-this. I'm gra-grateful that you w-went to such lengths to find m-me but I r-really want t-to be with him."

Anri sighed in acceptance. She nodded in agreement. It was Mika's life. She could decide what she wanted to do with it herself. She already knew that Mika had some rather bad habits, like stalking, and this clusterfuck love was not something Anri intended to interfere with. Mika obviously felt very strongly about it. Besides, she owed Mika despite the fact they both used each other. Anri had gained much more from the arrangement. Mika had used her to look better in different social circles while in exchange Mika had taught her everything she knew about stalking. It was how Anri had successfully found Niekawa and tailed Seiji without his bodyguards noticing.

"Th-thank you, Anri-san."

Anri walked briskly through the shopping district. She was tired from all she had learned tonight and just wanted to get home to get some sleep for school the next morning. On the way home, Anri accidentally bumped into three men with yellow scarves.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." said Anri apologizing at once, she hoped there wouldn't be more to it than that and began moving passed them to make her way home. She knew what gang they were involved with and hoped to avoid any confrontation.

One of the men blocked her path as the other two started chuckling. Anri tried not to let her anger show as she tried to move passed the man but yet again her path was blocked.

"You ain't goin' anywhere." said the person blocking her way lecherously; he licked his lips as he looked at Anri's ample bust size. "I think you oughta be givin' us a more personal apology if ya know what I mean."

Anri tried to keep her calm. If she attacked them outside a shopping district then there would be consequences for her. She didn't want anyone to know of her powers and the she especially didn't want the fucking police on her case. She wanted to make a break for it but knew there was a possibility that these three goons would follow her home. The writing was all over their faces. First that fucker at school and now this? Anri hated her life. It was nothing but misery no matter how happy she tried to be. She had enough of this!

Anri kneed the man blocking her in the groin. The man's eyes bugged out as he fell to the floor. Anri quickly ran away and kept running as the three chased her down the street until she found a dark alley and hid. The three spotted her and ran at her full force. They intended to restrain her and get the pleasure they wanted. The leader was intent on killing her afterwards for hurting his dick with that harsh knee strike. Anri waited until they came close enough and took Saika out. She slashed the one on the right with a strike across the abdomen, pulled back to slice her blade into the middle one's shoulder, and then grabbed her sword with both hands to strike across the leftmost one's lower gut. They fell in a heap from the pain.

Anri put Saika away. A very frightening thought occurred to her then as she was ready to leave. While yes, she could defend herself with very little effort, what about others who couldn't? What if it had been another girl who had bumped into them? Someone without supernatural powers like her or not a trained fighter would stand no chance in this scenario. It sickened her to think what these three, and the rest of their gang, could do or have done to those unable to defend themselves. Anri decided then that she would find as much information about the yellow scarves and take them down. Perhaps it wouldn't do much good, but the tabloids making news about Slasher attacks on the Yellow scarf gang would definitely deter people from joining and make those who had joined desire to quit. It may make some of them angry and Anri knew she wouldn't be able to slash every single member even with her Saika daughters slashing members of the gang even if they were in the gang themselves but it was far better than doing nothing. Besides, it would be fun.

She swore to find and kill whoever the leader of the gang was. The leader was in charge of those under him and he may very well have ordered these attacks and even rapes in order to strike fear into the city. Regardless of the reason, the man had to be taken down.

She left to go back home. The men were unconscious and she could get info from them later. At this point, she was far too tired to concentrate and simply wanted to go home to sleep.

Anri slammed her locker shut in anger. She had been upset throughout the whole day and what she saw in her locker just made her lose all patience. Her shoes were gone! Gone! It had to be that fucked-up pervert. Kida had been doing his best to get that lecher off her back and it seemed that the man just resorted to underhanded tricks as a result.

She was immensely grateful for her new friends. Ryuugamine Mikado and Kida Masaomi. She honestly couldn't ask for better. They boosted her self-esteem, brought her along to different places when they hung out, involved her in their conversations, and helped keep both the pervert and those three bitches out of her way. Those two were better friends to her than Mika had ever been. They had done a lot for her – more than they realized – but it seemed even with them at her side the negativities of life found its way to hurt her again.

Her interviews with the three yellow scarves turned up devoid of any real information. The three had joined recently and only so they could do what they wanted with the protection of a gang at their side. Idiots. She had sent them to the local precinct where they confessed their crimes except the attempted rape of her. She had discovered that in less than a week they had already committed nearly twenty crimes that ranged from assault to rape. They had done it under the assumption that their newfound gang protection would keep them away from the police. Anri was absolutely sickened by this information, instructed them to immediately confess to the police, and admit to the crimes when their plea was asked by the judge. She knew this would do very little good as their confession would get them less time in jail but it at least kept them off the streets.

The information on what those three had done and the lack of information on the leader had already ruined her good cheer. She had kept to herself throughout the day and tried to keep into conversation with Mikado and Masaomi but it was clear to them that she wasn't interested. They both had assumed she was distracted by her thoughts about Mika and respectfully kept their distance on broaching the subject. Mikado didn't want to make a fool of himself twice like he had at Russia Sushi when the conversation of Mika had come-up. He hadn't asked her anything during their class representative duties. Anri was glad. Yet now her shoes were missing… could this day get any worse?

"What's wrong?" asked Mikado, looking at her in concern. She had drawn attention to herself by slamming the locker rather harshly.

Anri took a deep breath to calm herself before addressing Mikado. The other students slowly went back to what they were doing.

"My shoes are missing." said Anri in an annoyed tone. Mikado frowned. He hoped that he hadn't annoyed her by asking. Anri, oblivious to this, turned to face him. "Could… would you mind helping me look for them?"

Mikado quickly agreed and they both went to get Masaomi to help look for them since he was staying after too because of the disciplinary committee. After some fruitless searching, Masaomi left with a dark look muttering something to himself. Anri realized he had figured out who stole them. She was fairly sure it was Nasujima as well but she wanted to avoid him as much as possible within the school. He had the upper-hand here. He could demand anything from her in return for the shoes or report any sort of misconduct he made-up to make her life hell. The teacher would be believed more likely than the student. Even with Nasujima's record, he hadn't actually been proven to conduct any misdeeds with Niekawa. Reporting his behavior would be difficult without any proof and there were some schools that outright expelled students for reporting any sexual misconduct under the pretense they were lying because the schools didn't want to run the risk of bad press. Whether a school was public or privately funded, they were more than likely to have well-qualified lawyers ready to protect the school from lawsuits. Anri was the perfect target in this case since her parents were dead and she lived alone. It would be harder for her to file a lawsuit and there was no one she could turn to for comfort over the emotional stress she was already going through over this.

She tried not to let it bother her but a man actively sexually harassing her was becoming too much. Looking at her like a piece of meat, touching her in a casual way on the shoulder as if they had such a relationship, and now stealing her shoes. It was becoming too much! She tried to keep to herself in school and she knew lashing out at Nasujima would only give him the upper-hand. She wasn't stupid. She knew the other teachers and students saw it. Some of the more stupid girls looked jealous at the attention Anri was getting from him. She hated it. She had wanted to keep quiet and not be bothered by others in school so she wouldn't draw attention to herself or at least before Mikado and Masaomi came into her life. Nasujima was making that into an impossibility and she just knew that eventually he would get tired of pussyfooting. His 'charm' had worked on the willing idiot Niekawa but it revolted her. He had extorted money from Niekawa and used her for his perverse sexual fantasies. The girl had needed someone for her after her mother's death and Nasujima had taken advantage of her crush on him in the worst ways.

They searched everywhere they could think of but couldn't find her shoes. Anri had a brief chat about her mother with Mikado. The time she spent with her mother were some of the happiest she had even with all the pain she endured from her father. Anri decided to call it quits and informed Mikado that he needn't bother looking for them anymore. She would just buy a new pair of shoes tomorrow morning. She left after bidding a thank you and goodbye then went home. Without shoes the trip back was painful and she wouldn't be able to search and slash yellow scarf gang members.

'Search and slash' thought Anri, musing over her own train of thought. The joke was lame but she liked it. It kept her mind off her burning feet. 'That's what I'll call it. Or maybe… seek, search, slash! It's like one of those lame mission statements from businesses!'

She ignored the weird looks she received from people due to her lack of shoes as she made her way home. After locking the door, she went to the bathroom to clean her feet using her shower before she made her way to her room. She started and finished her homework before preparing dinner for herself. She sighed as she began to eat quietly. After five years with no one but yourself in a house, a person truly felt the affect of being lonely. It depressed her. She was glad she wasn't desperate enough to fall for Nasujima's disgusting ploys but it would be nice to have a friend over for once. Even if they discovered her parents were long dead and that she was alone by herself.

It was odd. She had eventually felt the festering pain of loneliness turn to numbness until she hardly cared about anything in her life. The only thing she really pushed herself in besides school was embracing her demonic sword's power. She had spent the five years since gaining Saika into kendo training and school gymnastics so that she could defend herself if need be. When she turned thirteen she had begun to practice on thugs out in the streets. It was dangerous but it was also exhilarating. It made her feel alive, if only temporarily. She enjoyed what she caused. She had learned to handle Saika's whispers and drown out the thoughts of love throughout these five years. She had even discovered two very interesting powers of Saika besides the known ones. She had done research on the sword due to her eventual curiosity regarding it and mastered these two abilities.

Today, however, she wouldn't be able to go outside and merrily make mayhem with her sword. She needed to occupy her time to drive the loneliness away. It was strange how these pent-up feelings hadn't surfaced until meeting Masaomi and Mikado. It was probably due to the fact that she actually enjoyed their company instead of either despising it or only using it to her advantage like with Mika. That didn't help her right now though. She decided to send indecipherable and crazy text messages on a chat forum to relieve her boredom and loneliness. It wasn't ideal and it was completely rude but she needed some way to get rid of these feelings. It didn't help much. All Anri was left thinking about was her mother, that fateful night, and how she was no longer part of her life... it only deepened the depressing feelings.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. She quickly scampered to the front door and opened it. Carefully opening it only slightly ajar to see whom it was. She was never too cautious anymore. She lived alone now and the only security she had was herself. From the other side, she saw Mikado's smiling face as he lifted the bag with her shoes in them. Anri paused in surprise for a moment. She opened the door fully and took them from his outstretched arm.

"Thank you." said Anri, he smiled in return.

They both stood there awkwardly for a moment. Anri knew it was rather late now but would he mind? It would relieve the loneliness but she couldn't have him stay over if he needed to be ready for school tomorrow, right?

Mikado wasn't sure what he expected when he arrived at Anri's house. The thank you was expected, of course, but had he secretly wanted something more? He frowned inwardly. He shouldn't expect anything, he realized. He wasn't going to pressure her into anything. He wasn't that kind of person. He knew she was already stressed with her friend's disappearance. He shouldn't add to her plate.

"Would you like to come in?" she said rather quickly, to his surprise.

Anri seemed to be waiting for his reply nervously. Mikado, not really knowing what to say due to his own nervousness, blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"Uhh, w-would your parents mind that?"

Anri visibly frowned at that. She was trying to keep her mind off her parents after having sent those texts. Mikado panicked at that response. Had he said something wrong?

'Why do I always have to be so awkward?' thought Mikado sullenly, time that he could spend with Anri and he was blowing it by acting without thinking. 'I wish Masaomi was here… wait… no, I don't…'

Mikado realized he really needed to learn to do things on his own without his best friend's confident persona helping him. He needed to grow his own set of balls as it were. He shouldn't rely on Masaomi for these kinds of things and especially not if he was trying to gain the courage to ask Anri out. Emphasis on trying. He admittedly felt jealous when Masaomi told one of his more humorous jokes and Anri laughed at them. It was rare but it happened. He was relieved every time Anri turned down his best friend's playful attempts at getting her on a date. Mikado knew it was all in good humor but he didn't want Masaomi and Anri to get together. It was selfish, he knew, but he couldn't help how he felt about Anri. He really was a clueless coward when it came to romance.

It was sort of funny. He was a confident shadow gang leader that was threatening to take down Yagiri pharmaceuticals' for their apparent kidnapping and human trafficking with coordinated rescues he would assign his most trusted affiliates within his organization but when it came to girls he was a coward. Perhaps it was because he was faceless when giving out those orders and sending those people into danger?

In this present scenario, he had no one to rely on and only himself to make a fool of. He couldn't back away from it either. He felt awkward whenever doing something stupid or saying something wrong. Yet with the Dollars, he had time to collect his thoughts before issuing out assignments. Here, his head zipped through all the various scenarios in which he might make a fool of himself.

"Just come in," said Anri a hint of forcefulness in her voice. Mikado looked at her in surprise. He had even flinched slightly. Anri blushed in embarrassment. Crap, she needed to fix this… "If… if you want to, that is."

Mikado followed her inside. He took off his shoes at the door as was customary. Anri took her shoes out of the bag and placed them on their usual spot by the door. Anri closed the door and locked it behind her. She beckoned Mikado to follow her as she went to her room. Mikado followed as he inspected Anri's home. There wasn't much of anything. It was a rather sparse place much like his apartment.

He followed her to her room and they sat opposite each other by the table. He placed his bag of school supplies down next to him.

"Would you like anything to eat?" asked Anri politely. In response, Mikado's stomach growled. He blushed in embarrassment. Anri chuckled in response. "I'll get some leftover pizza and soda. Would that be fine?"

Mikado nodded in response. She came back a few minutes later with his pizza and two sodas. She placed his pizza and soda on the table before settling herself opposite him once again and sipping her soda.

'Crap! What do I say to her now that I'm in her house?' thought Mikado, racking his brain to come-up with something. Honestly, his brain picked the worst of times to stop working. Suddenly, inspiration hit him! 'Gaah! No thoughts are better than perverted ones!'

Unfortunately for Mikado, it was the wrong type of inspiration. They didn't even have that kind of relationship! This was not helping!

"S-so," began Mikado, trying to think of a good topic to start. What he didn't realize was that Anri felt just as nervous as him. She was just better at hiding it. "Wh-where are your parents? Are they both at work or asleep or… uh… something?"

Anri frowned again at that question. Her visage took on a hurt expression as she sighed in sadness. Her gaze turned to face the floor as she placed her glass of soda down. An awkward tension loomed in the air for Mikado as Anri thought over how to answer that question.

'Note to self,' thought Mikado, mentally kicking himself for bringing up her parents again. He felt like bashing his head against a wall. 'Stop asking about her parents!'

"I didn't tell you this earlier at school… actually I probably gave you the wrong impression. They died." Anri had blurted the last part out. Mikado jolted in surprise at that revelation. "I'd rather not get into details but they've been dead for five years now."

Mikado mentally reeled at that information. Anri had been living alone for five years? All alone? Why hadn't any of her family claimed her? Why hadn't she been put into foster care if she had become an orphan so young? Perhaps it was best not to ask an obviously touchy subject for her…

"Um, so…," stuttered Mikado trying to think of something to change the subject. Anri's attention turned to him once more. "D-do you have any idea who stole your shoes? I found them outside near the school field in the grass so I have no idea who could've taken them."

"I have an idea on who is responsible," said Anri her tone becoming colder. Mikado was berating himself at this point over all the stupid questions he was asking. "I'm sure Kida-kun realized who it was too. He's been helping me get them to stop bothering me. He probably confronted him about it today."

"Him?" questioned Mikado confused by what she said. Both Masaomi and Anri knew who it was? Or at least, they had a good guess from the sounds of it. "It wasn't those three girls?"

Anri shook her head. She thought it over and decided it was probably best to let Mikado know what was going on. He seemed pretty clueless to what was happening despite some of the school gossiping about her and Nasujima. She didn't want him involved in this since he didn't seem the type to handle himself like Kida or herself. It was better to tell him so he didn't do anything rash if – when - he saw that pervert try something on her. She didn't want him getting in trouble with the school for defending her in some stupid chivalrous way. She was not worth it and at this point she didn't care much for her education with Nasujima around.

"It was most likely Nasujima," said Anri, purposefully excluding the sensei part. She really didn't give a fuck about courtesy for elders when not in school. Adults never did anything but shit on her life from her experience. At Mikado's confused look she sighed once more. She would need to clarify. "He's been… looking at me strangely and touching me without my permission. It isn't anything that could count as sexual assault yet but he's getting there. He must've stolen my shoes today so that he could demand I do something for him when I eventually found him with them."

"Kida-kun's been helping me by keeping him away. I'm really grateful to him. I always get afraid that Nasujima will find some way to punish me by making a fake report of misconduct but when Kida-kun shows up I feel relieved because he's always able to scare Nasujima away."

Mikado's insides churned at that new piece of information. He felt angry at himself. How could he not have even noticed such a thing? Why hadn't Masaomi told him?

'No… I can't get angry at Masaomi for doing the right thing,' thought Mikado in resignation. He needed to stop being so self-centered regarding Anri. He hated how he felt jealous over even this. 'It wasn't his business to tell anyway. It was Anri's.'

"I... I'll help in any way I can too," said Mikado solemnly. He meant it too. "I'll be sure to stop him if he tries anything on you."

'This is exactly what I didn't want,' thought Anri groaning inwardly because of that proclamation, 'I don't want you acting outlandishly.'

"Ryuugamine-kun," began Anri sternly. She needed to make this message crystal clear to him. "Just don't bother. I don't want you acting rashly and getting yourself in trouble for my sake. It'll only cause you problems and it won't stop Nasujima from attempting to have his way with me."

Mikado's eyes seemed to turn cold at that. Anri blinked. She realized that wasn't just her imagination. That had been real. She knew he reacted with more feeling and less with thought when the subject matter regarded her. It was plainly obvious that both her friends had a crush on her though Mikado's was deeper. Masaomi liked her but he knew to keep it under sarcasm and didn't expect any reciprocated feelings. It wasn't important to him. Mikado, however, due to inexperience seemed to hope for more and was awkward around her sometimes when his feelings got the better of him.

"Ryuugamine-kun, listen, I know you want to help and I sincerely appreciate that." said Anri trying to mollify what it was that she had just seen. She didn't like that look. That look didn't suit him. "I'm only saying this because I know that you care. Please don't dwell on this. I'll just have to handle it."

"You shouldn't have to." said Mikado bluntly; this was not something he could just let go. "You're my friend. I can't just watch you suffer and not do anything. I understand that you and Masaomi don't want me doing anything rash but I'm not about to just sit back and watch you suffer."

"If I get in trouble then so what? A school that allows a teacher to do such terrible things isn't worth going to. I'll transfer to a different school; you and Masaomi can transfer with me. Even if we've only been friends for a short time. Your well-being is way more important to me than going to some school. I know… I know it sounds stupid but a school that doesn't do anything about sexual harassment isn't worth going to."

Anri hadn't realized when she smiled at that but nevertheless she found herself smiling at his words. She felt touched. She thought over what he had said and decided he was right. All three might miss a year into their education but so what? If Mikado needed a home to stay in for that time then he could stay with her if worse came to worse.

"Don't worry," said Mikado, "I won't do anything rash. I'll probably just make-up some lame excuse and pull you away at break-neck speed like I did when those three girls were trying to bully you."

"Break-neck speed?" said Anri in amusement. She wanted to just change the subject. She secretly thought Mikado's proclamation had been a bit stupid. "Didn't I run faster and pull you along while we were running?"

Mikado flushed in embarrassment as Anri chuckled.

I should probably work out more… thought Mikado, If anyone found out I was the Dollars leader and tried to hurt me there wouldn't be much I could do…

Mikado realized that while it was a great city to live in – it was dangerous. More than once, he had been threatened by bodily harm from gangs and had only been saved thanks to Shizuo Heiwajima, Masaomi, or Izaya Orihara. He needed to learn to defend himself. There would be a point in his life where he couldn't rely on others.

"I have some good news." said Anri brightly, before her face scrunched up in a look of concentration. "It… may sound strange though."

"I found Harima-san. She… well, she's safe." said Anri fumbling at her words. She needed to explain this without bringing up the whole nefarious organization, demonic sword powers, and the fighting that ensued. "I managed to find and speak to her. It turns out that she got cosmetic surgery to change her appearance. She wanted to be left alone. I've decided to respect that."

"I see…" replied Mikado unsure of what to say, it seemed tonight was full of revelations. He really didn't know what to make of that piece of information. "Well, that's a relief. I'm glad she was safe after all."

Anri smiled at that. She was glad too. At least something positive had turned-up recently. They resumed their respective meals and spoke over more light topics such as what they would be doing as class representatives or what new movies they were interested in seeing. Once Mikado had finished his food, Anri had taken it empty dish and glasses back to the kitchen. Once she returned, both of them checked their time and realized they had spent more time conversing than they realized.

"It's getting pretty late." said Mikado, checking the time on his cellphone. "I better go home now. I still need to do my homework."

Anri was concerned. She had run into three thugs just last night and it was hard not to notice the increase in the yellow scarf gang around the area.

"Stay over for the night," said Anri with a hint of concern, Mikado looked at her in complete surprise. His eyes bugged out at her what she just said. Anri flushed a little. "It's no big deal. We're friends. I've got two extra bedrooms that guests can use. Besides, I really don't think it's a good idea to be outside at night especially around this time. I've noticed a lot more of the yellow scarves around and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Th-thank you," Mikado stuttered slightly not trusting his voice, he tried to keep the perverse ideas at bay and his voice calm. He felt really bad for having them when Anri was just being nice. It didn't help that Anri had one of the best looking figures in the entire school. "I… um… need some place to do my homework."

"Do it here," said Anri shrugging her shoulders. "I'll even help."

Mikado began taking out his homework as Anri sat next to him and assisted him. Mikado felt nervous a few times but eventually he became comfortable as time wore on. They compared homework answers once they were finished. They spoke some more over the recent events in Ikebukuro such as the rise in the yellow scarves and the increased Slasher attacks. Afterwards, Mikado retired in one of the guest bedrooms to sleep in as Anri went to sleep in her room. Anri barely registered the prickling that she started feeling on her left arm because of how tired she was.

"Sooo~" began Masaomi in a sing-song tone during lunch break on the school rooftop. "When were you guys going to tell me that you started dating?"

Mikado nearly spit out his soup. Anri blushed at Masaomi's question. The very prospect of her and Mikado together…

'Cut, Cut, Cut,' Saika suddenly chanted within her mind, 'Cut him, Cut him, Cut him.'

Anri forced down those thoughts and the prickling feeling on her left wrist with a cool feeling of indifference. She allowed this to numb her feelings before the chant subsided.

'That… was far from the usual.' Anri thought worriedly, 'I had this prickling feeling this morning and Saika's been acting strange since last night… Why is this happening?'

At the moment, it seemed this oddity was well enough under her control but she didn't want Saika to continue behaving so erratically. She didn't want to endanger anyone. It was best to try and research this later. Perhaps her planned escapade at night with cutting yellow scarf members would be of help too.

"Wh-what…?" stuttered Mikado before pulling himself together. "What makes you say that?"

Masaomi took on a thoughtful pose in front of his two friends. He outstretched his arm and pulled his index finger upward in front of his friends.

"One," began Masaomi, his face had split into a huge grin. "You both arrived from the same direction on our way to school and you had that goofy smile on your face, best friend-kun."

Was I really so obvious? Mikado groaned. How did he even notice that if Sonohara-san and I meet up with him after each other?

Masaomi then pulled another finger up making a V-sign.

"Second," continued Masaomi, well aware of the growing blush on both his friends. He mentally chuckled in amusement. The joys of teasing! "Your clothes were noticeably ruffled, leading me to believe that you're wearing the same clothes as yesterday."

Mikado's cheeks turned a tinge red at that. Am I always this transparent?

Anri didn't know whether to chuckle in amusement or blush at what was happening. What Masaomi had just said made her remember that she had allowed Mikado to use her shower earlier today when she prepared their lunches and the naughty thoughts she found herself thinking when she heard the water running.

"Finally," said Masaomi cheerfully, pulling up another finger. The cherry on the icing of the cake! "You're not eating your usual bento. In fact, it looks and has the same contents as what Anri-chan is eating. Therefore, it is absolutely obvious that she made lunch for both of you~"

Mikado glowered to himself at Masaomi using the chan suffix for Anri. Anri's face soon resembled a tomato as Masaomi finished his accurate analysis.

'I didn't realize that all of this could be misinterpreted!' Anri thought frantically, she hadn't wanted to give anyone the wrong impression. She didn't have a desire to get involved in a relationship with anyone. Mikado was sweet and thoughtful but she just wanted to stay friends. 'I need to fix this! Kida-kun couldn't have been the only one to notice!'

"So!" said Masaomi having noticed Anri's panicked reaction and Mikado's glum face when he had used the chan suffix in gist. He clapped his hands together for affect. "You simply must give me the details of how you guys got married!"

"M-married?" squeaked Mikado as his eyes widened. Both of them were thrown into a loop by that statement. Anri's blush faded as she realized that Kida wasn't being serious with his teasing. Mikado, unfortunately, was confused by how Masaomi could have come to such a far-reaching conclusion.

"Did you embrace her on a giant glistening golden gundam while fighting a monster of pure evil?" rambled Masaomi outstretching his arms into the air as he mock-danced around in a circle. "Did you have a wedding to fulfill a long lost promise after winning a world fighting tournament?"

"Oooor maaaaybe, you permanently broke the thumb of some hothead who was making trouble for her with your impressive fighting ability~"

Mikado slammed his face on the palm of his right hand at Masaomi's ridiculous rant. Anri tried to think of just what different anime or manga series that Kida was referring to. Anri gave-up on guessing which the third one was after realizing which ones the first two were. She shook her head in amusement at Masaomi's antics.

"Don't be ridiculous, Kida-kun." said Anri interrupting what could be another rant. "Ryuugamine-kun found my shoes and arrived at my house very late at night. We just did some homework and chatted a bit. I told him he could stay over because I was concerned about the recent activity of the yellow scarf gang."

Anri couldn't help but notice Masaomi's demure visage after saying that and how he quickly changed topics to the trailer of an upcoming movie that he wanted to see. She did not notice Mikado's bitter look.