Durarara!! Vol. 5

Chapter 1.1

May 3rd, Sunshine 60 Street, Ikebukuro

The street was Sunshine 60, one of the most famous in Ikebukuro. 

Usually referred to as the "60-Story Street", it connects the East Gate of the Station to Sunshine City. To those who commute to Ikebukuro by train, it's the most familiar one among Ikebukuro's many crowded streets.

It is the fastest route from the Station to Sunshine Building. Though it is often confused with the street named "Sunshine Street" right next to it, they are actually completely different streets.

The time was Golden Week.

The street was more crowded than usual since it was the beginning of a long holiday. 

People passed each other by in the streets heading for all sorts of destinations - families headed for Sunshine City, couples walked towards cinemas, young people were about to shop for clothes and salarymen craved their meals. Akihabara-style young men were heading for Toranoana and Manga no Mori. Young girls, on the other hand, had Animate and the Butler Cafe "Swallowtail" in their minds. Pimps looking for easy targets, men who looked like hosts, women selling paintings and even well-built foreigners could also be found in this holiday crowd. 

When one walked on this road from the Ikebukuro Station, there was something quite impossible to miss. 

Namely, the huge LCD screen and the numerous posters on the walls of Sunshine Cinema.

Inside the game center on the first floor, game machines like UFO claw cranes lined the walls. Young people were often seen killing their time here while waiting for the movie to begin.

"Ne - , Rocchi! Go for that one next! That one! The stuffed one!"

"Eh~that's not fair! Non just got one, didn't you, Non?"

A throng of girls stood in front of the entrance to the game center. The afternoon looked nice and peaceful.

"Ne - , Rocchi! I want a minute on that machine too!"

"Ah, OK, then we'll just leave Kanacchi here when we go buy juice, won't we, Rocchi?"

"Hang on! Are you guys dumping me!?"

"What's the big deal, Kanacchi? You got plenty of Yuukichi-sempais on you today. Change them into Hideo-kuns and play your alien. Wow, I just tried picturing it, and it freaking rocks! Though it's kind of TR."

"……Um, ne, Kiyomin, what the hell did she just say?"

"......If you try to put that into Japanese, it'll be like 'Kana, you have plenty of 10,000 notes on you today, so why not just change them into 1,000 ones, go have fun on your UFO claw crane and let us watch you act all stupid? I just tried picturing it, it's so bad that it's amazing. I'm getting goosebumps'......something like that. This is sick. Why can't she just speak Japanese?"

"Oi, Kiyosuke! Your translation weirded me out. You're no fun at all like an alien."

A crowd of about ten people walked out of the game center accompanied by their usual banter. Then, out of nowhere, a voice broke the peace of this routine scene. 

"Get out of the wayyyyyy!"

The brusque voice of a male who was breathing heavily sounded within the crowd on the road that had almost transformed into a pedestrian street. 

People turned in the direction of the voice out of reflex. A middle-aged man in a hat was pushing through the crowd forcefully, looking eager to get out.

The street was less crowded than the train station at rush hour. Had the man been a little calmer he would have been able to find his way out with relative ease. However, the man didn't look like he had the luxury; he simply charged forwards in a straight line, scaring people out of his way.