Telling me to follow the notes, and sing them with my screams.
I hear that you have two adorable younger sisters.
Kururi and Mairu, right?
Nakura?
It's some guy who once filled our director's daughter with all kinds of bizarre ideas.
Question 1.
What do Lizard of Amphisbaena and Mr. Kumoi of Heaven's Slave have in common?
Please forgive me, Mr. Nakura. For taking up your time.
Uh, Ms. Kujiragi, was it?
What could an insurance agent want with me?
I know this is sudden, but do you know someone named Izaya Orihara?
Yeah, we were in school together,
and since it's such an unusual name, I couldn't forget it if I wanted to.
He's not using my name again, by any chance, is he?
"Again?"
Yeah, I mean, I sold my name to that guy.
What do you mean by that?
He told me he wanted to buy something in secret,
and asked to use my name for an online purchase.
It wasn't like it was my account number, so I figured, why not?
And after that, several packages were delivered to me.
What did they contain?
Just regular books.
They did seem a little racy, but like folklore research books, I guess?
How was he at school?
He hardly ever showed up to class.
I did see him talking to some weird guy in a white lab coat and glasses.
And what was his name?
I couldn't tell you. Anyway, why are you looking into him?
I can't go into detail,
but his name popped up on a list of beneficiaries my company maintains.
Oh? I see.
So you suspect insurance fraud or something.
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Orihara was into that.
Hey, I just remembered.
I'm pretty sure one time he told me that observing humans was his hobby.
Observing humans, did you say?
Hurts, doesn't it?
And not really in a condescending way, either.
You know how cat-lovers, when they see a cat,
they're just like, "Oh, how sweet! How sweet!"
Whether the cat's pissed or sulking or whatever...
If you're seeing humans as cats, wouldn't that be considered condescending?
No, in his case, if the cat just got hit by a car,
or was about to die of disease, or had its throat ripped to shreds,
he'd probably say it in the same way.
"How sweet!" You know?
Eloquent and Competent
Well, not so fast. Let's talk this through.
Ah... So you're ready to give up and call your lawyer, maybe?
I-I looked it up, and in Tokyo, even if it's considered to be a light vehicle,
a horse isn't required to have headlights!
There it is in the headlight section, too! It says, "Except for cattle and horses!"
Crap! Busted!
Did you say busted? Why, you no-good cop!
This is tyranny! A bum rap! Corruption, do you hear?
Right. So you're insisting that it's a horse till the bitter end, huh?
You finally get it, then?
And you've been riding that light vehicle you call a horse down the streets like a motorcycle, right?
Huh?
How much can you tell me about the difference in rules regarding light vehicles and motorcycles?
Uh, well...
You do know that even if it's a bicycle, you need to observe the speed limit, don't you?
Now, when you were fleeing from us, you were clearing exceeding it, weren't you?
You've got some balls, ignoring my orders to stop for five straight minutes.
So anyway, hand over your ID like a good—
Hey! Damn you!
Jeez...
Today was a total debacle...
Are you all right, Celty?
Your sorrow is my sorrow, you know! It's totally gut-wrenching for me! But—
Sorry about that, Celty.
I'm fine, some saliva got into my windpipe, that's all...
Is that right? Thank goodness.
Sorry. I know you're in far worse shape than me.
There's no need for you to apologize, Celty!
Rather, I'm the one who should be apologizing,
for not being able to get up and hold you in my arms!
Shinra...
For the last few days,
having you tell me about the outside world has been such a delight for me.
It really does ease my pain.
I know it's odd for an underground doctor to say, "Sickness starts with the mind,"
but I mean it when I say that you're the best medicine for me, Celty.
Thank you.
Maybe we're paying for it now.
Paying for it? What do you mean?
I'm talking about Orihara.
When he got stabbed and ended up in the hospital, I didn't really worry about him.
Oh, please! That Izaya brought it on himself, anyway!
He's like other people's grudges, walking around fully-clothed!
Even so, he's still one of my few friends.
Was he always like that?
Yeah, since middle school, Orihara never was the type to interact with others.
I don't think he has anyone he can really be himself with.
Well, with his personality, that's inevitable.
Now, then, let me change your bandages.
Ah! Having you gaze upon my wounds is somehow embarrassing,
but at the same time so exhilarating...
What should I do? What should I do? What am I supposed to do?
Sit still.
But...
What did you do to get a scar like that?
You did tell me you got dragged into a friend's fight once...
Oh, this? I kind of got gouged with a knife, see...
A knife? Hey, but that's no joke!
And here I thought the reason was that you got pushed and fell down a flight of stairs!
Oh, I see. Yeah, that's right.
I haven't told you about that yet, have I?
About this scar... I have all these mixed feelings about it, too.
It happened twelve years ago.
Congratulations on your enrollment to Raishin Middle School
I spoke to him on the day of our matriculation ceremony.
Hey, you! Want to join the Biology Club?
I mean, do you want to start one?
To him.
Sorry, but I'm not interested.
You don't have to be interested, okay?
Let's start one! A Biology Club!
Kishitani, was it?
You can call me Shinra!
Um... sorry. What was your name again?
I'm Izaya Orihara.
Oh, yeah, right! Orihara, right?
I'm going to call you Orihara, but you can call me Shinra, okay?
Why would you ask me to start a Biology Club with you when you don't even know my name?
Because of what the teacher just said.
At this school, you can start a club with two people or more.
No, what I'm saying is, why me?
Well, you like observing living creatures, don't you?
Huh?
That's what you said when you introduced yourself, right?
That you liked observing all kinds of living creatures.
And that leads us to a Biology Club how?
Humans are living creatures, too!
Like I said, I'm not interested in starting a Biology Club.
I see. Then it can't be helped.
I'm going to ask you again tomorrow, all right?
Hold up.
Don't you think the answer will be the same tomorrow, too?
How about the day after tomorrow?
Still the same.
Come on! You can be club president!
Why are you forcing the tiresome position on me?
Anyway, why don't you just ask someone else?
Like your friends from grade school?
Does it look to you like I have friends?
My bad. True, you probably don't.
Sorry to disappoint you!
Actually, I do have one.
Huh?
But that friend's at a different school.
So he's not at this school.
It doesn't look like you'll have better luck here, either.
My condolences.
Well, I'm sure there's at least one other person who's into living things.
Hmm... Yeah, but...
If he really likes biology,
and gets too pumped up about it, that wouldn't be good for me, you know.
If possible, I just want to keep our activities to a minimum.
What's up with that? So you don't actually like biology?
No, to be honest, I don't even want to be in a club...
But the person I love said to me, "Shinra, you don't have enough friends.
Why don't you at least join a club?"
Anyway, you strike me as someone
who'd take part in the Biology Club without really being that into it.
Please! Let's go out and look for tsuchinokos or something!
You know that's not a Biology Club activity, right?
And so... although Orihara couldn't be more cold-hearted,
apparently, he'd taken an interest in me, and had been digging around.
And it seems that in doing so, he found me amusing.
The fact that unlike him, I didn't seem to be interested in humans themselves,
and if that was the case, then what was I looking at instead?
Shinra Kishitani
This Biology Club.
If it's as vice president, then I don't mind doing it.
- Thank you! - Hey!
I couldn't ask for more.
And that was the birth of the Raishin Middle School Biology Club.
And then, during summer vacation of that year...
Biology Room
Hey, I'm expecting great things from you, Vice President!
In other words, you have no inclination to do anything yourself, right?
I wouldn't say that. I'll at least cheer you on.
And since we're the only two members, that means you're free to make unilateral decisions!
Isn't that great?
I guess so.
If you die here on the spot,
I'll observe how your corpse rots, and exhibit it at the Cultural Festival.
Right, that's the kind of experiment they do at university research facilities in the U.S.
Isn't that what they call body farms?
I'm impressed you know that.
My dad does research at a pharmaceutical company over there.
So I used to hear all kinds of trivia like that.
Oh, but... what if...
What if I don't rot?
Huh?
Let's just suppose
there's a really gorgeous woman's corpse, whose heart has stopped beating.
And that corpse never, ever rots.
There's a corpse that you merely see as beautiful.
But you can't get through to her heart.
Even if you fell in love with her, she wouldn't respond to you, right?
Because she's a corpse.
Well, if you're deluded enough,
you could probably make do by yourself with ventriloquism or something.
If that corpse were to move without rotting at all...
In other words, if it went from being just a non-rotting corpse to a non-rotting zombie...
Could you communicate with her, that is, could you fall in love with her?
What are you talking about?
Suppose that zombie's heart had merely stopped,
and it were the kind of zombie you could talk to, and joke around with... what would that be like?
Probably just like a person with a still heart and a physical idiosyncrasy, I guess?
Then would it be abnormal to fall in love with that zombie?
If it's normal to love humans, and abnormal to love everything else,
then where do you draw the line, I wonder?
Well, I don't think it matters.
What kind of person you fall in love with, as long as you don't hurt others.
No, even if it means hurting others, I want to love her.
What is this? Are you gushing?
Celty! Even back then, I've loved you!
Ouch!
A world without you is no world...
Never mind that! I hear you! I think I vaguely get what you're trying to say!
Like the saying about being crushed with grief...
Utter despair...
Sorry, Celty, I'm going to lie down.
For heaven's sake, stay in bed!
It was a month after that.
I told you... I want you to stop doing stuff like betting on baseball games.
Still nagging me about that?
It's none of your business.
Well, I did tell my family that you're my friend.
So?
Considering that, not stopping a friend who's mixed up in all that is... Uh...
It won't do.
Shinra, are you an idiot?
That sounds to me like you don't even have a will of your own...
A puppet who panders to his family!
If it means having my strings attached to my loved ones,
I don't mind being a puppet.
You're beyond hopeless.
Is that you, Kishitani? What happened?
I've been stabbed...
Would you mind calling for an ambulance?
Several hours later, Orihara gave himself up to the police and was taken into custody.
We never pressed charges,
and the whole incident was over before too many people found out about it.
What? It was Izaya?
Are you telling me that Izaya did that to you?
You've got to be kidding me! All right, now I'm mad!
- Damn you, Izaya, I'm gonna make you pay! - Calm down, Celty. It's not like that.
It's not like that at all!
Then what's it all about?
Huh? Now you're falling asleep?
Hey, Nakura. Nice work!
That was a great performance!
Huh? Wh-Where were you listening?
You're as adept at lying as ever!
That woman, no way is she an insurance agent, is she?
Would you mind not getting me mixed up in affairs with yakuzas and that kind of thing, at least?
What's this? Seems like your observation skills are top-notch now, huh?
True, the part about her being from an insurance company was a lie.
Although it's true that her name is Kasane Kujiragi.
Well, it's a bit different than the yakuza, so you can set your mind at ease.
R-Really?
Yeah. Actually, you came this close to having the Awakusu Group go after you twice, you know.
What?
Remember that group, Amphisbaena, that we founded in our third year of high school?
Y-Yes.
The one that was like an extension of our baseball gambling, right?
Right, that one. Where you called yourself "Lizard."
But didn't it fold right away?
Do you remember a girl from back then whose nickname was Mimizu?
No, not at all.
Guess not. I mean, even I'd never heard of her.
Well, that girl took over Amphisbaena,
and she's been raiding the Awakusu Group's turf.
Huh?
Oh, man, was that amusing!
You were already gone, and there she was worshipping you - "Owner! Owner!"
I bet in her mind, she was the owner's lover,
and that's what she was making her comrades believe, too.
You know, I have no idea where you're going with this...
Don't worry. It's already been resolved.
But you know what topped even that?
The fact that they were at odds with that Shijima.
Huh? You mean that guy who founded the Underground Legal Drug Club?
That's right. The well-bred Shijima!
I never once showed up there, but
Nakura, you were like the founder of a mutual aid society, going by the name Kumoi, remember?
Now, he's been making legal drugs.
- And all under "Mr. Kumoi's orders," according to him! - Wait... wait!
No way... you're joking, right?
He's quite the hotshot, you know.
Putting himself in the No. 2 spot,
he's been instilling fear into the other members by receiving "imaginary punishment" from Mr. Kumoi.
Fear of this man, Kumoi, that is.
I can't take this anymore. Give me a break, please!
Please help me!
About Shijima, you can just forget him.
For real?
Yeah, you have nothing to worry about anymore.
And if something does happen, you can just have Shinra change your face again.
What can I do...
What am I supposed to do?
You don't have to do a thing.
If you have any regrets, you should complain to your past self.
All right, talk to you later. Bye!
Why... Why is this happening... To me?
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
I don't mind being a puppet.
You're beyond hopeless.
Orihara!
Hey,
is that you, Nakura?
We've closed all bets, you know.
Hey... Please!
The money I bet till yesterday...
Give it back to me! I'm in trouble...
Unless I get it back, my dad's gonna find out that I took money from his wallet...
You only have yourself to blame, don't you?
I never once forced you to place any bets, you know!
Are you serious, Nakura?
Hand it over... I said hand it over!
- To be honest, - Give it back!
I don't see any value in giving that money back to you.
I know all about it.
You've followed people who won several times, right?
We've been getting complaints.
Never mind that! Give it back! Give it back!
You really are a moron.
Wait—
No, no, no, no...
No... I only meant to scare you...
Scare... Orihara!
It wasn't me... Not me! It's not my fault!
Hang on, I'll call for an ambulance!
Before you do that... Duct tape...
For now... I have to stop the bleeding.
Just as I suspected, I'm no hero, huh?
I just thought the person I love would praise...
Hey!
It's all right.
Looks like my internal organs are okay.
Hey, Shinra.
That wound... can we say that I stabbed you with this knife?
Huh?
In return... I'll spend the rest of my life making Nakura regret this.
So what was your answer?
Um... "All right, that's fine," I guess?
You're the kind of guy who occasionally takes dynamic action,
but who knew you were always like that?
Well, I was playing the straight arrow in front of you, Celty.
But who knew that Izaya had that in him, too?
Orihara and I are way too different, after all...
I guess he found that amusing in his own way?
This time, he asked me to retrieve chips, have a laptop stolen off me on purpose,
and protect his kid sisters.
Thank you very much.
If you're going to thank anyone, thank your big brother.
Brother?
Hey, Kuru-nee?
These shady-looking guys just attacked me, and the master came to my rescue.
Are you okay, Kuru-nee? Did anything happen to you?
Today I changed my view on you a little.
You do have enough humanity to worry about your family, huh?
I don't know about that.
If you try too hard to see the good in people, you'll get the rug pulled out from under you.
Thanks.
And what about that other information?
Right. It's up to you whether you want to believe it or not.
Just tell me.
Jinnai Yodogiri.
He's the mastermind who made that stalker attack Shinra.
Or rather, something like a mastermind, I suppose?
Where is he now?
I'm tracking him now. Even if I do find him, that's an additional fee.
Hey...
No, never mind.
You're wrong, Transporter.
The reason I asked you to protect my sisters
was because I didn't want them to come to the bar where Haruna Niekawa is.
That's all there is to it.
As it turned out, the transporter didn't say a word.
Thought I'm sure she was aware.
You really are the lowest.
As much as I despise that Headless Rider...
This time around, I'm feeling some sympathy.
When you think about it, it was the head that seduced Seiji, after all.
Well, I knew she wouldn't demand that I hand over her head.
What bugged me was whether or not the head had sustained any changes.
But from what I can see, nothing's changed.
That was... I'm sure of it.
Just as I thought, he's got my head.
But for what reason?
Izaya... You're Izaya after all.
No way can I trust you.
Hey! There he is! Iza-nii! Iza-nii!
Brother.
Hey, to think that you'd call out before kicking me.
I have a somewhat better opinion of you, Iza-nii!
I hear that you asked the Headless Rider to protect Kuru-nee?
Is that true?
I had some work that I was hiding from the Headless Rider,
so I used you two to keep her out of my way, that's all.
That's okay, too! Thanks, Iza-nii!
Thanks.
I really can't get a read on what you're thinking.
It's just that you're twisted, Iza-nii.
Stubborn.