Durarara!! - Volume SS01 - Chapter 8

SIDE STORY 8

 DURAMP!! AVOIDING LOVE

 IN THE CENTER OF THE WORLD

It was a clearly abnormal thing.

Months after the Night of the Ripper, when Saika deluged the streets of Ikebukuro, the city welcomed another fantastical being. Ikebukuro had been getting used to Saika and the Headless Rider, but this was something different.

Something clearly not human.

A grotesque creature beyond the realm of common sense.

What did this vision portend for Ikebukuro?

This is a fantastical tale.

A tale of a dreaming fantasy.

This is a nice city. Very nice.

This place called Tokyo is so full of desires.

It’s not at all like that island in Germany.

That’s right. Maybe here…

Maybe here I can suck up all the power I want.

I can gain strength here.

My desire will overwhelm all the desire of this city.

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…

Evening, Kawagoe Highway, top floor of apartment building

“Well, thanks, Celty. Now I’m covered in crab omelet.”

“Shut up.”

Shinra Kishitani sat there with soft-boiled yellow yolk dripping down his head, earning him a cold rebuke from his lover.

The message had been typed and displayed on the screen of the PDA in Celty Sturluson’s hand.

Celty didn’t have a voice—because she didn’t have eyes, a nose, mouth, ears, or any part of a head at all.

She was a type of fairy commonly known as a dullahan, and originally lived in Europe, but was currently forced to wander around Tokyo in search of her missing head.

Now she was living out of the home of the black-market doctor she had chosen for a life partner, and for the moment it was a mutually reciprocated relationship. That did not mean that they were equally sappy toward each other, however.

“Heh-heh-heh. I feel I’ve suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, but I still forgive you. I do bear some responsibility for saying nonsense, after all.”

Perhaps they had been in some kind of fight, with the way crab omelet was splattered over Shinra’s head, but he smiled as he wiped it off.

“Just stop talking,” Celty said, as if she was shaking the head that wasn’t there. She walked to the window.

With the setting sun casting its light over the city before her, the headless girl began a mental monologue.

My head may have vanished into the wind…but I can still feel its presence. It’s still here, somewhere in Tokyo…

Though she did not have the same fixation on it as before, she was still curious about its location. She stood silently at the window and allowed her nerves to sharpen, searching out into the city at night as far as the eye could see.

The shadow that wound itself around her body sensed the presence of something alien in the vicinity. It was somewhere distant—the signal was faded—but she could indeed feel her head out there.

But on this day, there was also something else.

Huh?

“What is it, Celty?”

Alert to the change in her mood, Shinra rushed over to her, quickly wiping the crab omelet from his clothes with a towel.

While she kept her attention on the window, Celty typed a brief message to her lover on the PDA.

“Something’s in the city.”

“Like what?”

“I feel it keenly. Something else that’s not human. Something like me.” She was typing rapidly.

Shinra’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

“…You don’t think it’s another dullahan, do you?”

“No, it’s not. This feels more…sludgy. It’s something I remember. I’ve felt presences like this a number of times in the past.”

She delved into the memory of her body, not her head, to recall a particular being.

“This feels like…”

She paused, hesitating, then struck the keys—putting a very conflicted look on Shinra’s face.

“A succubus.”

Human beings are built from desire.

It is why they have prospered to the extent that they have.

And I am something greater, something that feeds upon their prosperity.

Just the thought of that status fulfills me.

Wait and see, Viscount. You will not treat me like some lowly maid much longer.

I will gain a power in this town that no one can surpass. And then I will take over your island.

Oh, strength has nothing to do with it.

As long as I can control desire, I am invincible. Even the most powerful being in the entire world will be under my command if I wield their desires…

However, with so much desire all around, you would think that others of my kind would be nearby…

Hmm. Either they don’t know about this place, or they have no interest in Japan… That is their loss. All the more for me. It was worth sucking that Japanese knowledge out of Mamiya.

Now, let’s start with a little prep work.

There do seem to be many people in this city that are very ostentatious and frivolous. I’d rather start with a more innocent soul…

…I’m not seeing any.

But there are so many people here. I’ve got every flavor I could possibly want.

Hmm…those three going into that restaurant, the two boys and one girl… One of them seems eager for attention…but the other two look very innocent and pure, indeed.

They seem so plain, and most of all, young.

So, what kind of dream shall I give to these boys and girl in the prime of their youth…?

Inside a restaurant, Sixtieth Floor Street, Ikebukuro

Inside the major chain family restaurant on the second floor of this particular building, Mikado Ryuugamine glanced over the menu he’d been given.

The restaurant was almost completely full, and he and his two friends sat down at a table by the window.

“I’m kinda hungry. What should I have?”

Mikado and the girl across from him, Anri Sonohara, wore the uniform jackets of a high school in the area, while the other boy sitting next to Mikado, Masaomi Kida, had on a bright and stylish personal outfit that looked natural on him.

“I’ve already got my order. Hey, waitress! C’mon, baby!”

“Please don’t embarrass us!” Mikado pleaded, face already red.

Anri watched the two with a warm smile.

Mikado and Anri were the two student council representatives for the class, and Mikado currently had an unrequited crush on her. Or maybe it was requited, but Mikado hadn’t been able to confirm that for himself.

The reason for that was sitting next to him, flapping the menu to blow air on Mikado.

“You know, when we sit in this configuration, it looks just like we’re in a love triangle, huh? And I’m already tired of the will-they-won’t-they tension. So you can go now, Mikado. Scram!”

“What are you talking about?!” Mikado protested, wide-eyed.

Masaomi just shook his head. “What…? Are you saying you like this ugly, festering love triangle situation? Sigh… And here I thought you were the perennial virgin prude who remains pure at heart forever. Turns out you’re actually a stone cold erorist.”

“Erorist…?”

“You erotic fiend. You eronster. And let me be clear: ero is a higher level than ecchi. I mean, ecchi is just a derivation of H, the initial for hentai. That’s a provincial Japan-only term. But consider the refined, international ring of eros! Look at you. You’re a world-class erotic eroustabout! I’ve heard that love has no boundaries. Now you’re telling me that horny has no national borders, either?!”

“Stop saying that word in a restaurant!” Mikado demanded, blushing deeply.

Fortunately, the other patrons were too busy with their own conversations to notice Masaomi’s total lack of propriety, so no one else was paying attention to them.

Despite Mikado’s relief, Masaomi turned to Anri across the table and continued, “You can’t do this, Anri. Anri, don’t be like this. This erobot is after your body. Hang around with a randy lad like this and you’ll end up naked. He’s stolen something quite precious: your body.”

“Umm…”

Anri didn’t know how to react to this. She just looked uncomfortable.

“I, on the other hand, am very safe. First, the only thing I’m getting naked is your heart. Tu corazón, señorita. ¿Cómo estás? Muy bien.”

“Umm…”

“I can’t believe you can say that stuff with a straight face,” Mikado interjected, trying to help out the blushing Anri. He fixed his booth partner with an icy stare.

It didn’t have the tiniest effect on Masaomi, however. He watched a waitress walk past and started guessing her measurements.

“I’m gonna say 33, 26, 34 inches.”

“Yeah, which of us is the pervert, again? Oh, hang on…gotta use the restroom.”

As Mikado got up, Masaomi wore a lecherous smile and called out, “Hee-hee-hee! You sure you wanna do that? While you’re in the bathroom, Anri and I are gonna elope to indulge our passions!”

Mikado completely ignored him and vanished into the men’s room.

“He is a good guy at heart,” Mikado said into the mirror as he washed his hands.

The thought of the earlier conversation put a self-deprecating smile on his lips. Masaomi was not actually putting any moves on Anri. He acted that way around just about any woman who met his fancy.

In other words, Masaomi was not, in fact, a direct romantic rival. However, when he made these jokes and comments, it made it that much more difficult for Mikado to admit his affections for Anri.

A part of him thought it would be better just to man up and tell her his feelings to get it over with, but he had a feeling that whether she turned him down or they started going out officially, it would not affect Masaomi’s behavior whatsoever.

But there was a problem to solve before he got to that…

“I don’t even know if I can ask Sonohara out. If Kida doesn’t do it first…”

Masaomi had been calling her by her first name, Anri, from the very start, which was extremely forward. But Mikado still called her Sonohara.

“It’s no good…”

He cursed his own shyness and stared into his eyes in the mirror.

He saw his face, weak and submissive.

And behind it, Anri’s.

“?!”

He flinched and spun around, staring into the wide-open eyes of the girl standing before him.

“S-S-Sonohara! W-what’s going on? D-did you already order for me?” he asked stupidly, so confused and panicked that he momentarily forgot he was in the men’s room.

But at the same time, he realized something was off about the girl with him.

She had been wearing her school jacket moments ago, but now, for some reason, she had taken it off, so that she wore only her shirt and skirt. The restaurant wasn’t particularly warm, and she had been wearing it when he got up from the table just a minute earlier.

Before he could think any more about what this meant, Anri giggled softly and raised a hand to her chest.

“Mikado…”

“Huh?”

“While Kida may have said all that…stuff earlier…the truth is that I don’t mind…if you’re a little…ecchi.”

“Huh?!”

Mikado was so taken aback by this that he froze in place. He didn’t really understand what she was saying, but he was very, very aware that she was reaching up to undo the buttons on her shirt.

“W-wait…So-So-Sono-Sono-Sonohara?!” he gasped, panicking.

Anri’s hands slid over her shirt. With each descent, the white shirt opened further, revealing more and more pale, smooth skin.

“I’d be fine…if it’s with you…”

“Whaaaaaaat?”

He was beside himself with confusion. Bit by bit, first teasingly, then occasionally boldly, Anri removed her clothing. When all the buttons of her shirt were undone, it revealed skin like porcelain and a white bra nearly the same color.

“U-um, Sonohara?! What’s the matter?! Did you start playing truth or dare with Kida while I was away?!” he fretted.

Anri just blushed slightly, then reached around her back.

“Wha—no! You can’t be serious!”

But Mikado’s guess was correct: she was reaching to undo the hook on her bra.

Helpless to stop it, helpless to look away or directly at her, Mikado felt himself back into the sink. He was trapped.

At the same time, there was an oddly rational and alert part of his brain that thought, Oh, when she takes off her clothes with the glasses still on—something about that is extremely hot.

Just then, the door of the restroom clicked open, and Masaomi entered the room, humming a merry tune.

“Aaaaaah!” Mikado promptly shouted, much to Masaomi’s confusion.

“What are you doing? Your face is red, man… Are you feeling sick?”

“Huh? Huh?”

It was then that Mikado realized that he and Masaomi were the only people in the restroom.

“Wh-where’s Sonohara?”

“Huh? She’s just sitting at the table… Oh, I get it. You’re hoping to play while the cat’s away, huh?!”

Mikado ignored him, pushed the door back open, and returned to the restaurant. At the table by the window, Anri was sitting there, wiping her hands with the provided moist towelette.

She hadn’t even taken off her jacket, much less her shirt. Everything was exactly the way it had been when Mikado had gotten up from the table.

“???”

Now he was thoroughly scrambled on the inside, but his outside tried awkwardly to play it cool and get him to his seat.

“U-um, Sonohara…”

“Yes?”

“…Uh, n-nothing.”

“What’s the matter, Ryuugamine?” she asked, mystified. But this helped Mikado realize something.

Back there, she called me “Mikado”…

Normally Anri always called him Ryuugamine. It was perhaps a little overly reserved for them both to call each other by their last names at this point, but given their respective personalities, it felt rather natural for them to do so.

So what the heck was that version of her?

It was much too vivid to be a simple hallucination, and more importantly, he had no idea why he would be having a hallucination at all.

Anri had definitely been present in the restroom, but it felt as though he was the only one seeing her. The reality of the situation had been tenuous at best. Maybe he would have felt her breath if he’d been close enough, but maybe his hand would have passed right through her if he’d reached out.

Almost like he’d been dreaming while awake…

Heh-heh-heh.

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.

This is fun.

Quite delightful, in fact.

Yes, I was interrupted just before I sucked the vitality from him, but seducing humans of that sort always makes my heart dance and sing.

Only my designated target can actually see me. Such is the power of succubi and other demons of the night. And when we reveal ourselves to that target, they do not see us as we truly are.

We did not reach the stage of congress—but I did gain a foothold using him. Now I can sense the desires of any person with a connection to that boy, whether in his vicinity or not. I can sense the color and size of the desires harbored in any soul within the memory of his soul—and I can fly to them whenever I want.

Choosing the first person in a new land is a crucial task, but it would seem that I chose correctly with that youth. For all his apparent innocence and diffidence, he has quite a number of connections to others. And I feel that almost all of them are here in this city.

This is good. It means that I will be able to reap a tremendous amount of vitality and essence in a short amount of time.

The viscount, the maids, the werewolves…in fact, even that detestable relict will all be inferior to the power I will find here.

Heh-heh-heh. First I’ll start with the powerful desire I feel in that nearby park. Let’s see what you have to offer…

Minami-Ikebukuro Park

“Here it comes, Seiji! Open wide!”

“Th…thanks, Mika.”

Heh-heh-heh, there they are. The man and woman sitting on that bench… Yes, I can tell that they’re exuding some very powerful desire.

I’ll imprint the man’s desire onto my body and tear apart the connection he has with her. That might be fun.

And after I’ve drained the life force from him, I’ll turn my attention on the lovelorn woman and take hers as well.

Now let’s take a look at the kind of desire that exists in his soul…

……

Wh—It looks like…

A head?!

A severed head?!

Th-the vision of desire within this man’s being…the image that is flooding into my mind—cannot be anything else!

And…and it’s the head of the woman he’s with!

W-what’s wrong with this man?

Are his tastes so abnormal?!

Damn. I saw plenty of sadomasochism and fetishes in my homeland, but I’ve never seen someone whose desires are so outright dangerous!

Is he some kind of sick serial killer or something?!

Oh no. I need to send her some kind of warning, I suppose.

No, I’m a demon of the night. I have no obligation to help this human woman.

Gods below, but the strength of his desire is off the charts!

If only it were a more healthy sexual desire, it would be the ideal source of power for me…but if I devour this wish of his, it will only twist my own strength as well.

Hmm. What about the woman, though?

I suppose she’s brimming with desire for this man. Maybe I can use that to…

……

Wait.

Not so fast.

Yes, her desire is in regards to the man.

But there’s not an ounce of sexuality to it. All she feels is the desire for pure control.

…And maybe a bit of love, too…? It’s so wrapped up in the need for control, it’s hard to tell.

What kind of relationship are these people in?

Hmm, I sense another kind of powerful desire within the woman…

The instant I saw it, I vanished from the park.

Absolutely not. I was not going to stay there a moment longer.

Not in a place of such twisted desires.

The other desire I saw in her—the visual that came into my head—was taking the severed head that looked like her, grinding it into a paste, and putting it into her own mouth… Ugh, I can’t even stand to remember it.

What a bunch of freaks.

I feel sick just looking at them.

From what I hear, there are other night demons that specialize in dreams of that sort, but I’ll have no part in it.

The people on that island in Germany might have smaller desires, but their wishes are at least neater and colored in an appealing way.

Very well. I’ll have to try my luck elsewhere.

The sun still hasn’t gone all the way down yet, and there are still many connections to that boy’s soul to choose from.

…Ooh, I sense another human with a powerful desire very close by.

Perhaps this will be a good palate cleanser. I’ll devour the greedy desires that fill this city!

Kwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…

Outside of Seibu Dept. Store, Ikebukuro

My, there are so many people in this city.

It’s nothing at all like that rural island.

But the presence of non-human beings is rather scarce.

Ah, here we go.

Hmph. He might be wearing sunglasses, but this man seems rather timid. Since he has a connection to that boy somehow, I’ll assume he should be a pushover.

Then I shall do as I did with that Mikado youth earlier and take the form of the object of his desire.

Let us see what this man wants…

…A man?

Oh? Is he homosexual?

That’s fine. Love comes in all forms, after all.

I’m starting to get a little hungry, though. And some passion among men every now and again is a nice change of pace.

From what I’ve heard, the desire in same-sex relationships can be even deeper and more turbulent.

Well, now that I know the plan…

“Hey.”

I transformed into the figure the man in the sunglasses desired most and stood before him, grinning.

No one else could see me but the man in the sunglasses. Unlike with that Mikado boy earlier, there would be no interruption this time. I’d have a chance to lure him somewhere and…

“Iiizaaayaaa…”

Hah! Look at that grin. He has no idea I’m a fake.

Once he’s opened up his heart to me, I’ll read all the information I need about the man I’m impersonating, right out of his head. It would be easier if I could read all that information before transforming, but I don’t quite have the power I need yet.

He just has to open himself to me, and then…

“I’ve been dying to see you. I wanted to see you so bad, Izayaaaa…”

Hmm? Strange. He’s still not opening his heart to merglalbryuaЭΞ‡——

“I gotta tell ya, I’ve been tearin’ my hair out over here, Izayaaaaa! It’s been killing me that I couldn’t pound you into a fine dust!”

Oh no.

This isn’t love!

This man was just thinking about another man he wanted to punch!

By the time I realized my mistake, however, the man with the sunglasses grabbed my collar before I could undo the illusion—and hurled me straight up into the air.

For a brief moment, the ground was far below me.

My wings—I have to deploy my wings!

I have to show my true nature, extend my wings, and fly off before I hit the ground…

It’ll mean showing myself to this man, since he’s still my target, but there’s no helping that now-how-how-how-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaaa—

“You really do have the best timing in every situation, don’t ya?! It pisses me off, in fact!”

An impact ran through my body.

The man in the sunglasses had leapt up to chase after me, then slammed me into the asphalt like he was dunking a basketball.

He landed cleanly, then lifted one foot high over his head.

Fool! I’m a succubus. Your human kicks can’t—

“Die.”

Gwah?!

“Die.”

Wait…no…

“Die.”

How does he hit so hard?!

“Die.”

This has to be even more powerful than the vampires at the castle—

“Die.”

He must be tired of kicking, because now he’s straddling me to punch my faceghrblh!

“Die.”

G-g-g-gotta undo my ap-ap-ap-appearance…

“Die.”

C-c-c-can’t do it, the pain and force keeps me from concentra…

“Die.” I, I, I’m dying!

“Die.” Dying!

“Die.” Dying!

“Die.”

H-h-help, help me, s-s-s-somebody—

A large man approached Shizuo Heiwajima from behind, while Shizuo himself straddled me.

“Hi, Shizuuuo. What you doing?”

“Die-die-die-die… Huh? What do you want, Simon? It’s weird, Izaya just doesn’t have the same mettle as usual. I was gonna just go ahead and hit him a hundred times until he dies…”

“But Izaya is eating sushi in our restaurant right now.”

“Huh?”

This message from Simon, the Black man in the sushi chef’s apron, took Shizuo aback. He looked up, then back at his feet.

“…Huh?”

“Looks like a bundle of rags.”

“…So who’s this, then?”

“Dunno.”

Simon glanced at the succubus, which was no longer capable of hiding itself from others, and shook his head.

Until just moments ago, it had worn the face of Izaya Orihara, but now that face was so swollen that it was barely even recognizable as belonging to a human.

“H-hey…”

Now Shizuo was glancing around awkwardly. He slowly got off the night demon and reached out.

“Hy…hyaaaiiiighh!”

The succubus shrieked and got to its feet, then bolted off with inhuman speed into the crowd.

“…?”

“Oooh. It was fast— Could be Izaya after all,” said Simon. He and Shizuo shared a look, then muttered to themselves.

“…Was that a doppelgänger or something? I didn’t get the wrong guy, did I?”

“That’s strange… Shizuo was punching empty ground and yelling. Why that person show up there…?”

Junkudo Books, Ikebukuro

“Motorrad. Parentheses, note: A two-wheeled vehicle. Refers only to those who do not fly, close parentheses.”

Of all the bookstores in Japan, Junkudo was one of the largest.

In a section of the basement level full of manga, novels for young adults, and various subculture magazines, a young man with sharp eyes and a large backpack muttered to himself.

“What’s up, Yumacchi? You even said the parentheses out loud,” noted the surprised woman next to him.

As if on cue, the young man said loudly, “Then what is a two-wheeled vehicle that does fly called?!”

She caught the book that he tossed into the air, and exclaimed, “Oh nooo! Yumacchi’s snapped!”

The man she called “Yumacchi,” who was actually Walker Yumasaki, waved a hand around with no care for any attention he might be gathering. “Ugh, I’m just so jealous of this motorrad! Getting to ride all over the land with this adorable girl named Kino on its back! It’s not fair!”

“Calm down, Yumacchi! In that world, they just call flying two-wheeled vehicles ‘bikes’! It said so somewhere!” said his partner, Karisawa, who was desperately trying and failing to calm Yumasaki’s ranting.

“Oooh… Minami gets to be a double heroine in both Dokuro-chan and Binkan the Sensitive Salaryman! What the heck?! Are they trying to shunt Minami’s fans toward a different series?! Waaaah! Our poor Minami!”

“Hey! What’s wrong? You’re acting weird today, Yumacchi!”

It was at this point that Yumasaki finally looked at Karisawa.

“The group chat…and maids.”

“What?”

“…See, there’s this foreigner I met through online chat, right? And it turns out, it turns out, he’s freeloading at this rich family’s house! He gets to sleep and wake up under the same r-roof as m-m-maids… So many maiiiiiiiiids!”

“…Ahhh…”

Karisawa felt that she had figured out the situation. Just then, a third person entered the picture.

“Hey, don’t cause a scene at the bookstore.”

“Ah, sorry, Dotachin. Yumacchi was having one of his fits! It’s been a while.”

“Again, huh?”

Dotachin, better known as Kadota, sighed and began to put back the books he’d pulled off the shelves. “Listen, Yumasaki, just because Junkudo is a big store doesn’t mean you should be shouting at the top of your lungs.”

“I’m not shouting! I’m just letting out air so that my heart doesn’t burst! Arrrgh, why don’t I have any maaaaids?! I know there are guys in the real world who are living out all the 2D fantasies! It’s not fair!”

“For not having any interest at all in 3D girls, he sure does get jealous over 2D-like situations. And the few times he really snaps, it turns out like this…”

“This is such a pain in the ass,” Kadota grumbled.

Yumasaki continued to wail with self-pity, rolling around on the floor of the bookstore.

“Yes, yes, of course, of course! I can’t get off to 3D girls! But when you hear about a situation involving maids, you usually think of 2D first, don’t you?! Ugh! Why can’t 3D be 2D?! No matter how rich I might become, the dream will never come true!”

“Can you just shut him up already, Karisawa? The other customers and employees are really glaring at us.”

She sighed and nodded. More harshly than usual, she said, “Yumacchi.”

“Huh?”

“If you don’t pipe down now, I’m going to tell you all the endings of this month’s new Dengeki Bunko releases.”

Yumasaki immediately froze in place on the floor where he’d been rolling. “N-no, don’t! I just bought them today; I haven’t read them yet!”

“Well, I bought them this morning, and I’ve read them all. Oh, who could have guessed that—”

Yumasaki was promptly in a groveling position, rubbing his forehead on the floor and wailing, “I’m sorry, I got a little carried away! I won’t defy you again, I won’t yell and shout, I’ll behave, so please don’t do that! Anything but that, anything, anything, anything…”

“We still have some books to check out, so you stay out here and cool your jets a little!”

In the end, they took Yumasaki outside and tossed him into Togusa’s van, which was parked in the lot. The driver himself seemed to have gone off on his own.

“Rrrgh! I’ll admit, I wondered if two-wheeled vehicles that fly really are a thing. But the Black Rider practically swims from wall to wall, right…? Once you’ve seen that for yourself…you can’t help but hold tight to a faint hope, can’t you?!”

Left behind in the rear of the van, Yumasaki continued to vent and roll around on the floor.

“Aaaah! Maids are so great, great are the maids. Like Wilhelmina in Shana. In fact, you could give me someone like Domino, I don’t care—I just want a maid!” he wailed, compromising with a character that was not, strictly speaking, a maid.

Yumasaki glanced out of the van window in boredom and noticed a man dressed in familiar clothes, face swollen, walking unsteadily.

“Huh? Isn’t that…Izaya?”

How can this be?

Thanks to that man earlier, I’ve had to completely expend all of my stamina.

For now, I need to recover…

I don’t care who it is now. In fact, I’d even take that pair with the severed head earlier. I’ll show them the illusions they want to see. Anything to get a bit of their power…

“Is that you, Izaya?”

“W-what’s this?

“What happened to you? You look dreadful…”

The door on a nearby car opened, and a man came out, rushing toward me.

Ah, so he must recognize the man whose form I’m currently using.

…Oh? And he’s got ties to that Mikado boy as well…

Plus, it seems that he’s feeling incredibly unsatisfied at the moment.

Well, this is it. If I can manage to use him…

“Come on, let’s get you into the car, then.”

“Ah, ah…”

With hardly any strength left at my disposal, I couldn’t stop the man from dragging me to his car and pushing me inside.

“What’s the matter with you? Did you have another fight with Shizuo? If that’s true, it’s rare to see you get beaten so badly,” he said.

The door shut behind me, and I was trapped in something like a private cell. The rear seat had been taken out of the car, so it was much more spacious inside than you would think from the outside.

I was no longer able to vanish, but I could still at least cause the other man to hallucinate.

Somehow I have to look into his mind and see his desires…

…Ugh, this is how weakened I’ve become. I can’t even get a good look inside.

Well, at this point, I might as well…

While the man looked away, I transformed into a pinup photo model that I’d seen recently in a magazine.

“Hey,” I called out, in the sexiest and most inviting voice I could possibly produce.

“Huh…? Whoa?! Izaya just transformed into a lady in a swimsuit!”

While he panicked, I leaned forward and looked upward at him as I sidled closer.

“Wait, am I dreaming right now?” He pinched his cheek.

I said, in my most seductive whisper, “That’s right…it is a dream. And that means you can do anything you want to me…”

Despite being a demon of seduction, however, I still didn’t feel entirely comfortable with this kind of feminine mannerism. I’d spent too much time at that damned viscount’s place.

At any rate, first things first: I had to suck the vitality from this man. Now get aroused! Allow your passions to be open and enflamed…

…H-huh?

That’s weird. Why do his eyes look so cold and flat?

“Wow…I must be more exhausted than I realized.”

“Huh…?”

“If I’m actually dreaming of a 3D photo model, I’ve got it bad… At this point, I might be up for some enjoyable chitchat in 3D, but only if she were in cosplay. This? Just a bikini model? It’s terminal… I’m so cooked. I need sleep.”

The man promptly lay down inside the van.

He ignored me.

He ignored me!

I felt incredibly insulted and wounded.

I had to drag him down into a frenzy of physical lust. I had to capture him and draw out the lifeforce until he was dead!

“Hey! Get up!”

“What do you waaant? If you’re a dream, wait until I’m asleep to show up.”

“Shuddup! My pride as a succubus is at stake! I’ll transform into whatever you desire! And it’ll allow me to feed on your life force! I’ll do whatever it takes!” I said, frustrated enough to be brutally frank about it.

That was a mistake. If I tell him I’m a succubus, he’s going to be even more certain that this is a dream.

“…Succubus.”

But his reaction was not what I expected.

“…Succubus.”

Without getting up, he slowly lifted his hand to his cheek, and pinched as hard as it seemed possible to do.

“…Ouch. That hurts so much. So it’s not a dream.”

Instantly, like a spring-loaded puppet, he leapt to his feet, right inside the car.

“Succubuuuus!”

“Aaaaaaah!!”

This alarmed me, and it was all I could do just to maintain my bikini model appearance.

“Succubus?! Is that what I think it is?! The kind that appear in the dreams of holy figures and cause them to sink into depravity, so that you can absorb their vitality and give birth to more of your kind?!”

“How do you know so much?!”

But I am not the kind that he just described. I cannot go into people’s dreams. Some of them might, but I am the sort that removes my target’s vitality directly in real life.

When I didn’t know what to say, the man grabbed my hand. His eyes were sparkling, like an explorer who’d just found an ancient treasure.

“This is it…this is what I’ve been waiting for! Ever since I saw the Headless Rider, I always wondered if this day would come for me…!”

“Huh? Huh?”

“Yeaaaaaah! I have no regrets!”

I had a bad feeling about this.

The desire within this man, which had seemed relatively ordinary up to this moment, suddenly surged, becoming vast beyond measure.

“I’ve figured it out! It must be a Torch! No, a Mystes! Dammit, no wonder this demon of temptation looks so appealing! This is incredible—I bet there’s a Tenmoku Ikko within me right now!”

What is he saying? I don’t understand the meaning of these words.

Well, he’s faced with a being that is utterly unfamiliar to him. Some confusion is to be warranted…but still, something’s odd.

What human being would be able to accept this state of events so easily?

“A-at any rate, speak your desires, human, and envision it as strongly as you can within your mind. Is that understood?”

It was vague and fuzzy earlier, but as long as he was focusing on the image, I would have a much crisper idea of it. At that point, he would be mine. I would suck out his life!

The foolish lamb, with no idea that I meant to kill him, took me directly at my word.

Now go on. Speak your desire to me.

You will be dragged into your own thoughts, and drown in eternal pleasures…

“Then…then…I want Yomiko Togano to give me my own nickname! Like Schäferhund, or Glass Beast!”

“A nickname…? That is a very strange interest to have. Bah, very well…then summon the face and voice of this Togano to your mind, and… W-w-wait, what?”

Just as I hoped, his mental image was finally sharp and vivid. But what appeared was…

“Hurryyy! Hurryyy! Hee-hee-hee! I can’t think of a more exciting honor than to be called a nickname by the witch herself!”

“Er…the only things I see in your mind are text and illustrations…”

“What?! Of course! Togano is a character in a book called Missing! Oh, or should I go with the manga version instead?! Oh, right! Her voice! Yes, of course, you’d want Makiko Ohmoto, who appeared in the radio drama version…”

“Wait! Hold on! Stop assuming I’ve already read this book you’re talking about!” I shouted.

Undeniable shock and disappointment filled his expression. “Why haven’t you read it?! Aren’t you a succubus?! Aren’t you drawn to human desires and wishes?! Aren’t you basically a friend to Kageyuki Jinno already?!”

“I have no idea what that means!”

“I wanna be a motorrad and have a girl ride on my back.”

“Please fall out of the sky and come to me.”

“I want a thicc 2D girlfriend.”

“I want to join the Knights of the Blood and befriend the vice commander.”

“I want to be a Demon Lord and get a job at MgRonalds.”

“I want to pilot my robot little sister.”

“Please give me twenty thousand clone little sisters.”

“Please give me a cute little sister who can’t be this cute.”

“I’m fine being an irregular, just give me a superior little sister.”

“I just want a little sister…!”

The man continued to spout new desires left and right, but not a single one was something I could understand. For some reason, all of the images that came to his mind were flat two-dimensional drawings. It seemed that he could only envision things as comics or illustrations.

“I have no idea what you are talking about! If you want a younger sister, ask your parents! Face reality!”

“I am facing reality! I’ve got a succubus right in front of me!”

Damn. I’ve never come across anyone like him before.

Tokyo is a fearsome place… The freeloaders at the castle claimed that 80 percent of Japan was made of two dimensions… Is that really all there is in this country?!

“B-bah, I cannot deal with you!” I said. Something was eerie about the whole thing, and I made to leave the van.

“No you don’t! You’re not going anywhere!”

Damn! Such powerful desire! I feel as though I’m the one being sucked into him!

“I’ve finally got this great succubus! I’m gonna make you work for me!”

“Absolutely not! For one thing, I cannot convert two-dimensional images into three dimensions!”

“The cel shading tech in the game industry is unparalleled! They can do anything! My hopes were very slim before, but now I totally believe in them! I believe in dreams! I believe in hope!”

He grabbed me from behind and grappled me down, keeping me in place.

Shit! My stamina… My strength won’t hold out.

It’s all over. I spent too much of my power reading his mind.

My transformation…

It’s going to be undone.

I’ll look exactly the way I did when I left Germany…

Noooooooooooo…

When he saw my true form, the man across from me gaped with shock, and he pointed a finger.

“Oh…is that…?!”

Back alley, Ikebukuro

…That was dreadful.

But at least I’ve recovered enough that I can hide my form from sight. Anything more than that, and I wouldn’t be able to survive, so I got him to let me go… Imagine that—a succubus asking to be “let go”… Utter shame upon me!

…But then…that man never tried to take my clothes off. He just watched. I suppose that makes him something of a gentleman…?

No, no, no. Of course not. If anything, that’s creepier.

Blast it, is there no ordinary person in this city?

Or have I just had the luck to catch sight of nothing but freaks?

That first boy was normal, though… Hmph. Whatever. I’ll stay hidden this time and be very judicious in choosing my next victim.

I walked down an empty road and strove to recover my strength within the cold night wind.

I have time now. No human can see me like this.

Yes, that’s right.

No human can lay eyes upon me.

Which raises the question…

What is this?

Why do I feel…against the back of my neck…this deadly black blade?

I had no idea what was happening. All I could do was slowly and carefully turn around.

Drunn.

An engine whinnied behind me.

It was a black motorcycle without a headlight, and sitting astride it, clad in a black leather suit…

…Well, it’s not human…

This being wielded a massive scythe evocative of death itself and silently glared at me from a helmet that offered no glimpse at the inside.

“…What is this? The presence I sense from you…is not a vampire, that much I can say… But wait. I’ve felt this somewhere before…”

I searched back through my long past memory, recalling a time that I had met a fairy with a similar presence…

And then I trembled with fear.

“A…a dullahan?!”

No!

No, no, no!

The angel of death, the valkyrie in black—the condolence-giver whose blade could separate the soul from the body of not just humans, but even other demons and vampires! Why was it here?!

Well, it did explain one thing. A dullahan could use its shadow to sense me when ordinary human beings could not.

But beyond that…what about the carriage of bone and the headless horse?! I’ve never heard of a dullahan riding a motorcycle!

“Wh-why…”

Why is such a thing here, and why is it showing itself to me?!

The only thing I knew for certain was that angering it would easily be the end of me. My soul would be ripped out of the world itself.

Nobody really knew where dullahans took the souls that they had removed from the owners.

And not knowing was the true terror.

But as I quaked with fear, the dullahan did something rather strange.

She (as far as I knew, all dullahans took female form) pulled her scythe away from my neck and took out a PDA from around her torso. Then she typed some string of words into the device and held it out for me to see.

“Sorry for startling you. I’m Celty, a dullahan. I live around here.”

?

Why did she not simply speak to me?

A dullahan’s head is always removed from its torso, of course, but that just means they carry it around…

That was when I realized that, aside from the PDA, she was not holding anything. The scythe was probably fashioned out of her own shadow. There was neither hide nor hair of it now.

“Did you…lose your head…?” I asked hesitantly, not wanting to anger her.

But the dullahan promptly typed, “I’m embarrassed to admit it.”

Something about the way that she communicated through text reminded me of the viscount in my hometown.

The moment I associated the reaper with him, I found that my fear lessened by several degrees.

The dullahan continued to type. “I’ve been watching you for a while now. You tried to seduce my companions and suck out their life force, didn’t you? You tried to take their lives.”

Companions? What is she talking about? I have never attempted to absorb the vitality of a dullahan…

But, wait.

This dullahan’s soul…

Oh, there’s no mistaking it.

But I can’t believe my eyes.

It’s connected.

There is indeed a soul bond between that Mikado boy and this dullahan!

What does this mean? How can a dullahan and human be acquaintances…?

While I struggled to grasp the meaning of this revelation, she continued to type into the PDA.

“While you may have failed every time, you have attempted to do harm to my friends and the place where I live.”

“And you must pay for that.”

Night, along Kawagoe Highway, top floor of apartment building

“Ah, welcome back, Celty. How was it? Did you find this succubus you were…”

Shinra’s greetings fell short when he actually saw Celty.

It was indeed a woman in the usual black suit.

But there was one part that was very different.

“Celty, you…”

What Shinra saw was a woman’s head with pristine, beautiful features.

“Shinra.”

A voice as pure and clear as the face it came from filled the room.

But Shinra did not take this at face value. He recalled whom she had gone out to find today and came up with an answer on his own.

“Celty…is this the succubus’s…?”

“Don’t say anything, Shinra.” Celty shook her head and took a step closer to Shinra. “Do you not like me with a head…?”

She looked almost afraid of his answer, so Shinra gave her one of his gentle smiles. He knew what she was doing and decided to be honest.

“How silly… What do I always say? It doesn’t matter to me whether you have a head or not, Celty.”

He stayed sitting in his chair, looking a bit unconvinced, however.

“…Did you decide to show me this illusion just to ask that question?”

Celty leaned forward and placed her hands on the table so that she was resting against it. She leaned over, putting her face closer to his, and whispered, “I wanted to pay you back.”

“Pay me back?”

“Earlier you said to hit you—because it takes the place of a kiss, right?”

“That’s not something you need to pay me back for.”

Celty shook her head and leaned closer to him.

They could feel each other’s breath at this distance.

“Yes, I know that. And I know that you love me without a head.”

Although he knew it was an illusion, Shinra could feel Celty’s breath on his skin.

“So this is my little whim,” she said.

“Huh?”

He blushed like an adolescent boy. Celty gave him an impish little grin.

“I’ve already been dyed in the colors of this city. You might say that I have the heart of a true resident of this place. Or at least, that’s what I wish. And can you tell what wish I asked the demon to grant?

“I want to kiss you. That is my desire.”

Apparently, it worked.

Once I saw the two locking lips in the window, I breathed a sigh of relief and headed off.

When that dullahan had rounded upon me, I was so certain that I was going to die—go figure that she was actually offering me a deal.

“You must grant my desire in exchange for my mercy.”

I had no idea what she meant at the time, but once I peered into her mind, I was stunned.

Her wish was even more juvenile than that Mikado boy’s. It was like something a child would wish for, but far stronger than anyone else’s desire in this place.

But what an ironic twist it is!

Of all the people whose desires I could represent, the one whose wish was the purest and most potent of all was not actually human.

In the end, I left without taking the life force of the dullahan and human man.

The effect of the illusion would last for a while longer, so he would be able to see her head all night long.

Until this moment, I had taken it upon myself to “interpret” the dullahan’s voice for her, using the thoughts in her head—but no words would be needed anymore.

Lastly, I turned back in midair to glance at the dullahan with the watermelon on her neck.

The illusion was one thing, but to physically kiss her, there would need to be a solid object. The dullahan named Celty decided to place a small watermelon on her neck to be her head. The helmet would have been too big for the job, so she paid a visit to the nearby grocery store.

Personally, I was most shocked at the idea of a dullahan waiting in line and buying items in a store like an ordinary human being.

Still…a watermelon, huh?

Speaking of which, I wonder what that watermelon vampire is doing right now. Without me to provide the dreams, I have a feeling his transforming powers have been abused for that purpose.

Oh well. I suppose I could return to Germany for his sake. Not for the viscount.

This place does not suit me.

I’ve learned this lesson painfully well.

So if I’m going to leave, I at least want that dullahan to be happy, given that she’s the only one with a proper desire—no, love—in this twisted place.

…It’s all a big joke, isn’t it?

I wonder what the viscount will say about this.

Me, a creature that devours human lusts, wishing for the happiness of another.

But…it does feel a little bit nice, I’ll admit.

I must be hallucinating after going through such harrowing experiences. But at least it’s a pleasant hallucination. It’s worth enjoying.

Considering how this dullahan is surrounded by twisted human beings, as a fellow non-human—as a fellow woman, even—I chose to send her quiet well-wishes.

“…Sweet dreams.”

I chuckled and turned away for good, extending my wings to their full length, and taking flight toward the place I truly belonged.

I was fully done with this city—but thanks to the dullahan, I found that I actually liked the place just a little bit.

I’m done with it for now, but maybe someday I’ll return.

Everyone will be so shocked when they hear I know a dullahan now. Even the viscount will be shocked.

That’s right. I’ll come back for that.

And I’ll bring everyone else from the castle with me…

Ikebukuro

“What’s up, Yumacchi? You seem in a really chipper mood.”

“Heh-heh-heh-heh, can you tell? Aw, geez, I bet I’m shining so brightly, a reaper of souls might be coming to get me.”

“Dressed all in white? Or the one delivering letters?”

“Uh, the creepy bubbly kind.”

In the backseat of the van, Yumasaki had a strangely entranced look in his eyes. It was like he wasn’t fully present, like he was awake and having a dream at the same time.

“You look happy, but also kinda sick.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry about that, Kadota. I just got a bit of life force sucked outta me.”

Karisawa and Kadota shared a look, trying to figure out what he meant by that.

But Yumasaki was still engrossed in the heaven he’d tasted recently.

I don’t think they’d believe me, anyway.

The haggard succubus had shown its true self to him, a sight that he savored, replaying it in his head now.

Given the way it talked and the neutral-sounding voice, I thought the demon was a man… How could I have expected a babe like a manga character, with blonde hair and blue eyes—and a maid in green, to boot?!

“Hee-hee-hee-hee, hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee. Ahh, if only she were 2D, I would have proposed on the spot. Too bad, hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee.”

“Ugh, you’re being creepy, Yumacchi. Kino woulda shot you dead in no time…”

Yumasaki completely brushed off Karisawa, recalling his experience. “But I did draw a bunch of sketches so I can convert her to 2D. I’ll need to ink those later…hee-hee-hee, hee-hee-hee-hee-hee.”

“Has he completely cracked at last…?”

The other two looked at Yumasaki with suspicion, but he never wavered from the triumphant smile that stuck to his face.

It went on and on and on…

This is a fantastical tale.

A tale of a dreaming fantasy.

Fin