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[ Ikebukuro is a scary city, especially for someone who's never left his smalltown bubble before. Sure, he'd always dreamed of moving somewhere that more goes on - Somewhere that thrives much more than the place he'd always been trapped in. So, when his parents sit him down and tell him that they'll be leaving to work overseas, and that he'll be sent to live with a friend in the big city... not only is he amazed that something so monstrously cliche is happening to him, but he can almost feel his heart in his throat from excitement at how different his life will be.

He hasn't seen Masaomi since they were little, though. No... Should he use "Kida-kun", then? He's older than him, anyway, and if it's been that long since they've met... He really should be more formal with him. He'll be living in his house and going to school with him for a year, so if he were to be strange about their relationship and make things awkward... it would be hard.

Most of his things have been sent ahead of time, so Mikado only shows up at Ikebukuro Station with one bag. It's early in the evening - His parents weren't unaware of the heavy gang activity in the city, and didn't want him out too late. ]

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Hm? Aah, you mean those guys?

[He shrugs, folding his hands behind his head and bumping Mikado with his hip.]

If you stay on the main streets and you're not alone, you should be fine. But don't wander around by yourself, and don't go off down alleys or through the park at night. These days the yellow ones have pretty much run everyone else off, so they're pretty bold, but... They're not going to rush a crowd.

So, look out for the yellow ones, then...?

Right! They're really bad news, so avoid them so no matter what.

There's some other stuff you should steer clear of too, though...

Like what?

Well...

[He has to think a moment. There's a lot of things to worry about, in the city. How should he put it? One at a time, or all in a row? In what order? Aah, filling someone in is harder than he thought it would be. Maybe he should have rehearsed.]

There's general criminals, there's conmen and scamming hookers... There's some urban legends and this guy named Heiwajima Shizuo with a hot temper that can even throw a car! There's Orihara Izaya, who's got a kind scary rep, so you should be careful of him too. And then there's rumors about this "Dollars" thing, but I don't know much about that...

[ it's hard, not to stop in his tracks or lose step when Dollars is brought up. they were pretty grassroots - started as a joke, opening the gates with good deeds, but then getting into a bit of trouble here and there. mikado had never been with them in person, that was another downside of saitama. but they'd done enough here for a normal highschooler to hear the rumours...? ]

Ah...? So the gang activity really is that bad...

It's an urban area, of course it is. But like I said, as far as "gangs", it's only the Yellow Flag Orchestra that's truly haunting the alleyways! Anybody else is small fry, or a single shining star of trouble.

...That's the name of the most notorious gang in Ikebukuro...?

It's not like it's Yakuza... A kids gang should have a fanciful name, right? I'd be more worried if they had a scary name.

If they're "haunting the alleyways", they should have a name that strikes fear into someone, not embarrassment...

Maybe they're trying to trick you. Or it's a reference to something!

I understand that it's a reference...

Well maybe someday you'll meet their boss and you can tell him you don't like the name, huh?

...Sorry, I'm not suicidal.

[He just laughs at that, dropping his hands to Mikado's shoulders so he can steer him off in the direction of Russia Sushi. There's people he needs to introduce him to!

And so they're going to do the rounds, meeting Simon and the van crew and spending some time grabbing fancy drinks before they head home. Which is where they are now. Kida's parents aren't actually home enough to need their office, so the furniture's all been rearranged, and Mikado has his own bedroom! It's the smallest room in the house, but there's a desk and a real bed, which Kida immediately throws himself on because he's an adult.]

Welcome to your new home!

[ there are a few boxes with his things. clothes and such - and one with fragile markings. his parents thought it rude to have a whole desktop set up at someone elses house, so opted to buy him a new laptop instead. he sets down the bag he'd brought with him at the foot of the bed, looking around here ad there. ]

Eeh-- Kida-kun, your house is so nice...

I guess so. We're not in bad shape, anyway.

[He picks up Mikado's pillow and squishes it, getting comfy as he watches him.]

My room's the next one over, and the bathroom's across the hall. My parents' bedroom is on the other side of the living room.

Ah, are your parents not here often...?

They work a lot. They're usually home late and take a lot of business trips. But they'll make sure we have enough money, so we're fine on our own!

[ sits on the bed! and gives a small smile. ]

I'm glad I don't need to face the city alone. ...To be honest, being here is a little scary.

Scary, huh?

[rolls over so he can drape across Mikado's lap]

You're a real country bumpkin after all.

Scary, but... Ah, also exciting. Like the rush you get from a suspenseful movie.

Let's hope you keep being excited, then. I'll do my very best to make it an interesting school year!

Please don't make it so interesting that you fail out of school.

That would be a gross waste of the effort to get into a private school, wouldn't it? We made the effort, so we've gotta take advantage! We'll have a perfect TV drama romance school life!

To be honest, I'm a little surprised that that's an effort you put forward. Kida-kun caring about school enough to take the tests to get into a private one is surprising.

Hey! If you wanna be popular with girls, you've gotta be successful, right? I'm not gonna be a super casanova as a janitor!

I think girls are mostly into idols and movie stars, not boys with dyed hair that are aiming to get into TokyoU.

Maybe I'll go to school for acting, huh? You have no idea of the depths of my potential!

You're dramatic enough... I could see it.

Better than you. You'll probably be a schoolteacher or a computer engineer or something, won't you?

There's nothing wrong with wanting to work with computers in 2010.

It still makes you a nerd.

[sits up and hops off of the bed, stretching his arms above his head]

Anyway, it's late. You can help yourself to the fridge if you want, but I'm heading to bed early. Gotta look fresh and sexy for all the new girls tomorrow!

Good night.

[ instead of helping himself to the fridge like a fatass, he waits until he hears kida's door close to... boot up his laptop and load up the chat. he tells kanrasan and settonsan about how he made it! he's excited for his new life in ikebukuro to begin. ]

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