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Last Chapter: "Dollars" Closing Scene PART 1
It had been Mikado’s idea, and a few people he’d met online had felt it was a pretty good idea and had thus agreed to help him out with it.
They made up things about a group which was based in Ikebukuro, and spread its name all over the next. And later, they made up even more things on top of that, and whenever anything happened, they’d spread rumours about how they were the doing of the “Dollars”. They never claimed to be from the “Dollars”, and would always say that they had heard it from someone else. And if anyone wanted to know their source, they’d just ignore them, and they had even made a fake site to fool people.
And when the rumours began getting out of hand, Mikado and friends decided that since they’d started it, they might as well just go with it to the end and started a Dollars website. The website required a password to enter, and even prepared many ‘member posts’. Then they began spreading the website’s address. If anyone wanted the password, they’d pretend and say ‘someone I know who’s a member secretly told me’, and then email it to them.
And just like that, they’d made up an organization. As for their objective, all they’d written on the homepage had been “All are welcome.” There was absolutely nothing about ‘rules and restrictions’ on it.
Of course, at first there were many people who said things like “There’s no such group in Ikebukuro.” But strangely enough, gradually there were people who began saying things like “Someone’s pretty confused, ha!” or “Why is some brat who hasn’t even been to Ikebukuro talking?” The original creators all said they hadn’t done it. Which was to say, people who weren’t the creators were starting to defend the Dollars.
At first, they’d all been pretty enthusiastic about a situation like that, but then they slowly realized that there was something amiss.
Indeed, it had been just a joke at first. They had intended to stir up some excitement at first, and then later just ignore it later. They’d just wanted to play a little prank—but then things started moving in a strange direction.
At first it was just a made-up organization, and before they knew it, it seemed to having some kind of impact in real life.
They had no idea whose doing it was. But apparently, someone had jumped out from the online world into real life, and was spreading things by word of mouth in reality and getting all kinds of people to join the “Dollars”.
The joke was going too far, and was leaving their extent of control. Things had come to this, so they could just ‘fess up. Thus, Mikado and his friends just slowly disappeared from it all. They believed that just leaving Dollars alone, just letting it vanish by itself was the best way.
And yet, Mikado was the only one who was desperately clinging onto this ‘joke’.
Today the group was indeed possessing real power. And Mikado felt that, should there be no one to keep these people in check, it would definitely be too dangerous. Deep down, there was certainly a misguided sense of superiority he’d gained from that power. But he kept feelings like hidden in his heart. And when he finally realized it, he’d become the leader of the “Dollars”.
No one had seen the one at the top of the Dollars before. And as absolutely no one had any idea that he was only a junior high student at that time, the group rapidly expanded.
Until tonight—a group that had been borne of fiction, had been embodied definitely in reality.
“This is really amazing—”
Izaya said that slowly, as he watched the situation that had passed its climax.
Celty had beaten up ten men in under three minutes, and then gone off in pursuit Namie who had fled in some unknown direction.
And the crowd that had congregated seemed to have woken up from an illusion, and broke into groups and went on their separate ways home. The meeting before had been like a dream, and on waking, the crowd had completely disappeared.
Those that remained, were merely a few cars parked at the roadside—and the regular night scene and crowd.
“Just now…were there really that many people?”
Kadota came out from a van parked at the roadside, and asked that to Orihara Izaya, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Oh, long time no see Dotachin. Ah, in the twenty three wards in Tokyo, there are an astounding number of people, yet there’s an equally astounding lack of land. It’s easily the most densely populated place in the world. People can appear wherever they want, and it’s not surprising if they disappear wherever either.”
As the two of them finished their conversation, Celty had already returned to the entrance of the large road.
“And, Izaya…just what the hell was that? I’ve seen it before but…it’s probably not human right?”
“You saw it yourself just now didn’t you? She’s a monster—be sure to talk to her with respect.”
After telling that to Kadota in a joking tone, Izaya made his way towards Celty.
“Looks like you lost them.”
Even though he’d just seen how Celty had looked in combat, Izaya continued to speak to her as he normally did.
Letting Namie escape had perplexed her quite a bit, and Celty leaned exhaustedly against her motorbike.
“Maybe, you’ve finally decided to give up?”
Izaya was as relaxed as ever, as he spoke to Celty who had the cross-section of her neck completely exposed.
—Despicable. This bastard knew I didn’t have a head all along.
Even in the face of Celty’s true form, Izaya still maintained his composure. On the contrary, Yumasaki and the others’ excitement hadn’t quite died down yet, and they were still shouting things like: “Hyaya, eh? How strange! It’s real right? So, I’m not seeing things? Don’t tell me she’s…CG?!” The pair standing a distance away, were enthusiastically watching them.
Celty felt a little irritated as people looked at her like this, so she picked up her helmet which had fallen near her.
“Hey~ You know ghosts are only scary because they creep around unseen at first and then suddenly jump out to scare people: but you made such a flashy entrance…I think people here probably won’t be afraid of you anymore.”
After teasing Celty like that, he immediately brought up something he’d found strange:
“Which reminds me, you didn’t kill a single person in the end right? Was something wrong with your scythe? Too blunt?”
Celty completely Izaya’s question, and merely patted away the dust on her helmet quietly.
The scythe she’d used today was different from the one she normally used, as she’d added a sheath on both sides of the blade. It wasn’t so much a sheath, as it felt more like she’d just made both sides of the blade become the back of a blade.
—I still want to continue living in this place, so I don’t want my reputation to fall too much.
She would never tell anyone that it was because of a childish reason like that. So she merely shrugged sheepishly and once again placed her helmet back where her head should be.
♂♀
Before he left, Izaya walked up to Mikado’s side.
“Honestly speaking, I’m pretty shocked.”
Izaya said that with a face full of joy, and not a single drop of sweat ran down his face. Speaking of which, during that meeting just now, just where had he been? Mikado was completely clueless about that.
Oblivious to Mikado’s doubts, Izaya began candidly praising him:
“I knew all along that there were many people calling themselves the ‘Dollars’ online, but I never expected that the moment an offline meeting was mentioned…no, a gathering. It was such a last-minute suggestion, yet so many people still rushed over and turned up for it. Ah, humans have really exceeded my expectations.”
After saying that, he shook his head lightly.
“But, Mikado-kun…you came here just because you dreamed of escaping a mundane everyday life didn’t you? But just give it over a year or so, and life in Tokyo will become ordinary for you too. If you want to continue pursuing an extraordinary life, then I suggest you look elsewhere. Perhaps you could do things like drugs and prostitution, and delve deeper into the underworld.”
Only when Izaya had mentioned that, did Mikado realise something. Just what should he do if that excitement he’d just experienced kept repeating itself, or if he truly became the head of the Dollars? Once his current life failed to satisfy him, would he be able to continue pursuing a new way of life for the rest of his life?
As if he’d read his mind, Izaya quietly smiled:
“To someone who’s a member of the underworld, things like that are completely normal to them. Once you step into it, it’ll become ‘normal’ to you in three days. Is someone like you really able to put up with a situation like that?”
Mikado had a deep empathy of what Izaya was driving at. But, this person—why was he telling this to him? Mikado couldn’t help but think Izaya probably had some kind of agenda, but since he had no idea of what this agenda was, he couldn’t say anything just yet.
“If you really want to leave normality—you have no choice but to keep evolving. It doesn’t matter if you want to rise higher or if you want to sink lower, it’ll be the same.”
Finally, he patted Mikado on the shoulder:
“Savour your normal life while you can. But, out of respect—I won’t charge you anything for Yagiri Namie’s number; and the fact that you’re the creator of the Dollars, I won’t sell anyone that info either. This is your group, use it however you want.”
After saying that, Izaya walked toward Celty without a word.
Mikado still felt rather uneasy, but he still bowed to Izaya’s retreating back.
Then, Izaya suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his head, as if he’d suddenly remembered something and said:
“Actually I’ve been watching you online the whole time…ah~I’ve wanted to know all along just what kind of person started that amazing group called the Dollars. Alright, good luck then, Tanaka Taro-kun!”
“?!”
How had he known that name?—it was the username he used on that chatroom. Speaking of which, he’d also called Kadota “Dotachin”.
Then, he thought of what Izaya had just said. He knew he was the creator of the Dollars, and had been observing him the whole time—following him online.
Then, Mikado thought of one person. The person who had invited him to join that chatroom. The person who knew so much about Ikebukuro and the Dollars.
—No way—no way—no way?!
♂♀
After that, the police officers who had been patrolling the area arrived in 60-Storey Street. At that time, Mikado who had been wearing his school blazer and Celty, had hidden in the shadows of a dark alley until they left. Should the officers have seen a person in a school uniform at that time, he’d definitely be hauled off for some counseling.
People on the streets who had nothing to do with the Dollars, as well as the touts for the karaoke lounges and bars should have witnessed the disturbance that had occurred just a while before. But none of them reported anything to the police. An old saying goes: ‘don’t trouble trouble until trouble troubles you’. Likewise, no one really wanted to have anything to do with such a bizarre occurence, and there were even people who thought it was just an illusion or something.
But—for some reason, after the police left, the youth’s heart remained uneasy.
It felt like he’d forgotten about something—and just as Mikado was thinking about this, Celty who had put on her helmet once again was already making for the van that her ‘head’ was in.
Celty no longer held any feelings for her head, and the reason she was walking towards the van was because she had merely wanted to say one final goodbye to it. Then—
Stab.
She had just opened the van door when she felt an unfamiliar impact upon her back. And she felt the same thing once more a little above that area.
—That’s strange. Didn’t something like this happen to Shizuo yesterday too…?
That impact immediately turned into pain, which caused Celty to collapse onto her knees there and then.
She turned to look behind her, and she saw a tall youth in a school blazer standing there.
He held a large scalpel in his hand, probably taken from the research facility.
After a short period of silence, Celty’s wound began to heal, and the pain slowly diminished. On seeing that, the youth said:
“To think a knife wound like that couldn’t kill you…”
After making sure that the knife blade wasn’t stained with blood, Yagiri Seiji calmly strode into the van.
—Hey hey hey.
Celty had absolutely no idea how to react to this unexpected visitor, and had almost forgotten that she’d been stabbed twice in the back. She thought back to what Mikado had said, and she supposed that this was the probably the boy called Yagiri Seiji who was pursuing her head—and was the younger brother of the woman just now. Like when he had been facing off with Shizuo, the way he stabbed people was just too normal, and thus it was hard to notice his actions. He was a guy like that.
Then, Yagiri Seiji stepped into the van and took the heroine away just like that.
“Eh…?”
Mikado who was watching from afar was unable to discern what was going on, and his mouth hung open.
He’d seen a teenager in a school blazer climb into the van, and not long after, he’d taken a girl with scars on her neck away.
Seiji took the girl’s hand, and displayed a positively ecstatic smile. His gaze as steady as ever, he walked away from the van.
Karisawa and Celty who was watching beside her did nothing to stop him, or perhaps it was probably because they couldn’t stop him.
It was because the way Seiji had acted in the van had been just too innocent and so full of dignity.
When she saw him, Karisawa had thought he was Mikado’s friend. He was wearing the same school uniform, and there was not a trace of guilt or apprehension in his eyes.
In the van—he’d gazed so honestly at the head girl, and reached out a hand.
“I’m here to get you. Here, let’s go.”
On hearing those words, perhaps Karisawa and Celty would still be able to stop him. But in the next second, events took a turn for the completely unexpected.
“…Alright.”
They hadn’t thought the head girl would answer that immediately, and take Seiji’s hand like that without any hesitation.
As if he’d expected the head girl to give this response, Seiji nodded vigorously and helped her off the van.
All this seemed like something fated from their previous lives, and the street in the night, had seemed to become the path on which they would be reunited—
“Eh? What?”
On seeing an unnatural scenario like this, Mikado felt rather bewildered, but continued watching intently.
When Kadota and Yumasaki saw Seiji’s uniform, they assumed that he was with Mikado, and thus didn’t pay any special attention to him, and merely continued casually looking on. Izaya had probably sensed that something was amiss, yet he had no intention whatsoever of stopping it, and went on observing the turn of events with a happy smile.
Not long later, when Seiji who had started walking down the street with the head girl spotted Mikado, he approached him of his own accord.
“Hey.”
Seiji’s greeting was extremely ordinary, yet it seemed so hair-raisingly alien. Mikado was unable to respond to that.
Seiji did not seem to take notice of Mikado’s reaction and went on talking:
“I should probably thank you and Sis. Without Sis, I wouldn’t know where she was: and without you, Sis would probably keep her locked up in that cramped research lab.”
After thanking him in such an insipid manner, Seiji made to blatantly move past Mikado. Mikado hurriedly threw out a hand in an attempt to block them, and managed to glance at the girl with Seiji. Then, she perplexedly looked away. From what Mikado saw, this reaction was because she was afraid of something.
So Mikado stared at Seiji, and asked about an important matter:
“I hope you’ll be able to answer me…it’s about the thing I told your sister to scare her just now…”
“You mean the stuff about how I killed someone? Yeah, it’s probably true.”
On hearing him say that, Mikado momentarily felt a slight chill run down his whole body just looking at the person before him.
And Seiji had maintained such a composed expression as he said it, and raised a scalpel in front of Mikado who was blocking him.
“So, get out of my way. Since the matter of me killing that stalker girl is now exposed, then I have to run away to another place with her before the police arrive.”
Seiji’s eyes were not crazed in the least, and were not at all consumed by cruelty.
“Even if you say that…”
“What do you know? I’ve been watching her since I was little. Since the beginning when she was trapped in that cramped glass jar, I’ve always wanted to set her free. I wanted her to be free in this wide world, and I would live beside her. I’ve always always always always always always always always been only thinking about that.”
His eyes were so ordinarily calm, though they could be said to be filled with some kind of conviction. Or perhaps, it was the reality he had chosen. But from what others saw, it was something both incomprehensible and terrifying.
“What are you doing?”
Something was wrong. Izaya, Kadota, Yumasaki and the others successively surrounded the two of them.
On seeing the group of aggressive-looking people, Seiji shook his head gently:
“You guys are really annoying. No one can stop the power of love.”
Even in the face of a situation like this, he still said with a completely straight face. He twisted the scalpel raised in his hand, turned to Mikado and said firmly:
“Speaking of which, don’t you feel you’re pretty useless? Whether it was then or ‘now’, you’d always have a bunch of cronies who’d be helping you out…you never did anything yourself, like the lowest-ranked underling. You probably haven’t been in love with someone before right?”
“Someone who doesn’t know how much work it is to gather people, is not even at the level of an underling.”
On hearing Mikado’s ridiculing remark, Seiji merely smiled painfully, and immediately lowered the scalpel, pointing it at him.
And at that time, a black shadow rammed violently into Seiji’s body from behind.
Ah yeah...I'm not off hiatus yet. It's just I wanted to relax a little so I translated...the first part. Yeah. Hee. Another two weeks of agony to go so please be patient people. Once again, this is probably riddled with errors so help me sieve them out if you don't mind ^^ Uwa~I'm so in love with Date Masamune (the Sengoku Basara one of course). If only Nakai had a role in DRRR!! I would die a damn happy Naka-pon fangirl :((( Yosh...Bio paper tomorrow *dies*