Izaya

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Halo Twenty-Five: Izaya:

-Kitano and Etsuko-

"Is everything set?" Kitano asked.

"Yes, Kitano," Etsuko said.

"Good, good," he said. "You know, my girls are just itching to get started. They came to me the other day with an interesting request." Etsuko looked over her shoulder from the window.

"And what would that be?" she asked.

"They want to perform the next experiment on Chirin personally," Kitano said. Etsuko looked at him as if he was sprouting a second head from his neck.

"Won't that affect the balance of the experiment?" she asked.

"Perhaps," he said. "But we might be able to balance it out. Tell me, do any of your interns have any personal favorites?" Etsuko took a moment to think.

"Not really," she said. "I might have to ask though."

"I see," he said. Another thought crossed the doctor's mind.

"What about Izaya?" she asked.

"Ah yes, him," Kitano said. "I have just the thing." They would have four more days until the gate was to be opened.

-Izaya-

This wasn't supposed to go like this. He was Orihara Izaya. He was the puppet master, not the puppet. How did this happen? The cracks in his mask started to show.

"Nii-san, are you feeling okay?" Kururi asked. Izaya looked up from his phone. More of his money started disappearing. The other day, he received a video of him alone in his apartment. He was lying sound asleep in his bed. When he looked out in the living room this morning, there was no evidence of anyone breaking into the apartment. There was no one hiding under his bed, in the closets, or even in the ceiling.

That wouldn't be the last picture either.

Izaya turned to his sister with a forced smile on his face.

"Of course I am," he said. "Why wouldn't I be?" Kururi frowned.

"My card was declined," she said.

"Huh? When did that happen?" he asked.

"This afternoon," his sister complained. "I tried to buy this purse that I wanted but my card was declined. I had to pay in cash." Izaya rolled his eyes.

"You don't need another purse," he said under his breath.

"Hm?" she asked. Izaya shook his head.

"Nothing," he said. "Just don't use any of the cards, okay?" Kururi gave him a confused look.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Nothing," Izaya lied. "Don't worry about it." Suddenly, their phones buzzed.

"Hm?" the information broker asked. He and his sister pulled out their phones. A new text notification popped up on the screen. The number was blocked.

"What is this?" Kururi asked. She opened the text. There were no words in the message. The teenage girl had a confused look on her face.

"Huh?" she asked. Kururi and Izaya started scrolling down the message at the same time. Further down the message showed a single photo of them in the living room just seconds earlier.

"What is this?" the younger sister asked. The color drained from the information broker's face. He pushed past Kururi and bolted out the door.

"Nii-san?" she asked. "Where are you going? Nii-san?" She only got a slamming door in response.

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