Normal Day...so it would seem...

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

It was a normal day in Ikebukuro, and Mikado Ryuugamine was attending his classes like any normal boy.

There he was sitting in class, listening very intently to the teacher and writing down every note he thought could show up on the Mid-term exam. He took the notes to help him study, but really no matter how hard he tried he still just scored your average grades, and he was perfectly fine with that.

As the class droned on he felt his eyes begin to wander and observe his fellow classmates. They too seemed like your average typical people, on the outside at least, but he knew that they all held their own life and secrets that made each person unique.

He was no exception.

None of his classmates knew him and how he was long ago, well except for Kida but then they were best friends so of course he knew everything.

Well knew almost everything…

Mikado doesn’t know why he didn’t tell Kida about the Dollars; it was probably because Kida would most likely not believed him. There was also the reason that he didn’t want Kida to think that he had anything to do with the Dollars who were committing crimes, he didn’t start out to make this group to cause trouble, but just to have some fun.

Which reminded him, he had to find out the person who had acquired the password to the site and was now spreading it all over Ikebukuro. Membership on the site was exhilarating at an alarming rate. And he had to put a stop to it.

Snapping out of his daydream, and almost dropping his pen, he went back to his notes.

At last, the final bell rung for classes to end, and Mikado got from his chair and grabbed his bookbag. He slung the bag over his shoulder and began to walk over to the door when he felt suddenly get heavier and almost fall over.

He looked over his shoulder and laughed.

“Hey Kida, you have to be careful when you do that. I almost fell over and dropped all my books.” Standing back straight up he adjusted his bag and headed into the hallway and followed his friend.

[Deleted]

The boy walking in front of Mikado held his smile wide, not even pausing to apologize for almost knocking his friend down. It was a normal occurrence for them. Kida Masaomi felt no shame in grabbing and hugging onto his best friend, or anyone else for that matter, although his abhorrent lack of respect for personal space usually repulsed and frightened many of the other students. As the pair travelled down the corridor, these students had to jump and move out of the boy’s way, as he was walking backwards, flailing his arms dramatically.

“Mikadoo! Today is Friday! We don’t have to get up early and go to that stupid history class! We can go out tonight! Roam the streets! Find us some girls! Just us!”

On the last line the boy stopped walking, causing his friend to run into him. Quickly, without even taking a breath in his monologue, he continued:

“I bet a lot of them are going to hang out at Sunshine 60 tonight. It’s almost summertime. There might even be some foreigners. Imagine, a pair of foreign girls, Americans, lost in the city, asking us for directions.”

At this point, Kida was clinging so tightly the pair found it difficult to walk. It was like they were in the type of race boys do in primary school with their legs tied together. This awkward limping gait attracted a variety of stares from the other students, but Kida was so caught up in his romantic fantasy that he kept ranting in Mikado’s ear.

“Of course, these girls will have no place to stay. They will be shocked that their money is running low, and as nice guys, we will let them stay in our apartments, and, well, you get it by now.”

As the friends exited through the doors of Raira academy, Kida’s face shone like there was nothing wrong with the world. He was the embodiment of a self-centered teenage boy whose only worry was a girl’s impression of him. There was no hint of the life he hid from Mikado. His friend could never know. Kida could live as long as he knew there was innocence in the world. He could live as long as he was assured his shy, introverted best friend was home asleep instead of in the streets with the color gangs. For Kida, there was no imagining his new life as a normal student crossing over into his dark past. This was the one thing he had left: The one thing he had been able to keep for most of his life. He would protect Mikado from Ikebukuro at any cost.

Of course, his face failed to show any of his thoughts, and as the two embarked upon a crowded street, the boy who hid his secrets away grabbed his friend’s wrist and dragged him through the crowd.

“All the hottest chicks are this way! <3”

LET’S
GO FLIRT~

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

Mikado followed his friend with an awkward smile on his face, he had blinked for only a second but it was long enough that he didn’t notice Kida stop in his tracks and bumped right into him.

“Ow, sorry Kida…and what?” Mikado looked a bit confused at his best friend.

“Are we really going to that Kida? I don’t know…I’m too shy around girls and I really wouldn’t know what to say…” He nervously began to stutter out as he was clung to tightly and dragged out of the school.

“I’m really starting to think this isn’t a smart idea Kida…I can’t bring girls over to my apartment! One its totally not furnished and really there isn’t much I can offer them….Kida!” he tried to make his friend listen to him but all what Mikado said fell on deaf ears.

It might of sounded like he was bothered and annoyed by Kida’s actions, but deep down he knew how much his friend cared for him and was looking out for his well-being, even if that meant getting a girl. However that just made things a little awkward, he already had a crush, on Anri Sonohara, and Kida knew that, but yet he still brought Mikado out to pick up on girls…in a way this could be looked at as training.

Mikado smiled awkwardly when they reached their destination and laughed trying to cheer himself up. “If you say so Kida, if you say so…”

[Deleted]

“I’m not just saying so- I know so.”

The boy’s arrogance was unrivaled. To some, it may have seemed obnoxious, but Kida knew that no one in his regular life would ever doubt his self-confidence. He was careful around Mikado: he always made sure to act out around him, to be the perfect best friend. Since his companion had moved to Ikebukuro, Kida had tried endlessly to impress him, to give him someone to look up to. A single face in the city he could rely on. It wasn’t just for Mikado either. There was a sense of accomplishment in being popular that somehow outweighed the failures of the boy’s past. However, a small band aid would never be enough to patch the scar left in his memories. He realized this, but hoped anyways. Maybe a million could cover it.

If he really wanted to forget-

Kida pushed his thoughts back as they reached the Sunshine 60, where as predicted, girls lingered about, scattered about the floors, eating, shopping and just hanging out. For an hour or so, the two boys started conversations with random women, (always selected by Kida), but most of them failed, partly in due to the boy’s young age, but mostly due to Masaomi’s infamously bad pickup lines. After a while, the boy grew frustrated, crossing his arms and walking to a nearby food stand.

“You’re right Mikado. Your apartment is far too unimpressive for the ladies. We would have no chance with them there.”

As Kida talked, he ordered two hamburgers from the man at the counter. Although they were rather expensive inside of Tokyo, he repeatedly insisted that he buy both of them, using the rationalization that the cheeseburger would ‘Make Mikado more buff’.
After forcefully paying, Kida lead his friend away from the stand, taking the long steps he always preferred while irritated. He was too annoyed to sit down and eat, so they continued meandering about the skyscraper aimlessly. Eventually however, Kida’s smile returned as an idea began to form in his head.

“Mikado. It’s the weekend. I absolutely refuse to go back to school on Monday without doing something fun. Since your apartment probably lacks an air conditioner and all other basic comforts, you can stay with me. We can get up ridiculously early tomorrow and go on the hunt. If we spend all day looking- and not in a crappy place like this- we are bound to find girls.”

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

Mikado ate the hamburger Kida brought for him, making sure he finished all of it because according to what Kida said, he needed to get buff. After all if he continued to be skinny as he was, there was no way he was going to get a girl or even have the strength to protect her.

He somehow had the feeling that if he just ate the hamburgers but didn’t work-out, that he would get fat and not strong, and that would make him even less appealing. Oh his head went in circles at the thought, but nevertheless he ate the food. He really wasn’t set out to be the strong physical type; he struggled in Gym class and barely got by on his grades.

Mikado just nodded and agreed with Kida anyway, his point did make sense in that strange but unique way of Kida’s thinking. Well now that their food was gone, Mikado responded to Kida’s suggestion.

“My apartment has the basic comforts…sort of…” he looked nervously side to side until he finally sighed and gave in. “Are you sure its okay to stay with you? I don’t want to imply, after all you’re already doing so much for me…”

He still didn’t know why he tried and wiggle his way out of anything that Kida suggested; after all he enjoyed tagging along. It must have been his shy personality and inclination to just not be a burden to anyone. Sometimes he wished he could tap into his internet personality, someone who wasn’t afraid to speak up and do whatever he set his mind to.

Baby steps…baby steps…I have to learn to act more confident…Kida won’t always be there to protect me… Mikado told himself.

Mikado quickly took back what he said, “You know what Kida, your right. Let’s go do something fun this weekend. I still can’t promise I’ll have any more luck with the girls than I did today…but…but I’ll try.”

Oh one more thing he wanted to ask, “Oh hey where are you planning to go and take us tomorrow?”

So the two friends continued to walk along Sunshine 60 to Kida’s apartment. Once they arrived Mikado’s eyes widen at how different it looked from his place, and in the back of his mind he wished he could live here with his best friend.

“Hey…this is pretty big…how did you managed to find a place like this?” he said as he awkwardly stepped inside and looked around.

[Deleted]

“I’m sure it’s fine. If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have invited you.” As always, Kida sounded calm and collected, sure of any words that escaped his mouth. He completed his walk to the apartment with his arms folded behind his head, almost as if he was laying down. It was a pose unique to him, and he really never cared if anyone else didn’t find it flattering.

On the outside, the apartment looked like so many others in Ikebukuro, it was a large white building with stereotypical windows. The identical doors and identical stairs were almost perfect copies of each other. The only differential quality about them was the plaques above them, “1-A, 2-B” and so on. Kida stopped outside of one of the clone doors, labeled “7-B” and began to fiddle with his lock and key.

“……..I’m not entirely sure where we are going. Maybe we can take a ride into Harujuku and look at all the fashion chicks. We can figure it out tonight”

As he talked, he opened the door, and walked inside, letting his bags slide off his shoulder and onto the floor with the nonchalance only teenagers can manage. His apartment consisted of an open-floor living room/kitchen with a small table, a bathroom and a bedroom. It really wasn’t impressive, but anything with such a large floor plan was insanely expensive in Ikebukuro.

Kida didn’t tell Mikado that it was paid for by the few remaining members of his gang that supported him. He didn’t tell them that it was paid for by the money they pulled out of the unconscious bodies of their victims. Instead, he shrugged it off, opening the old, beat-up fridge and looking in it.

“You just have to know people. Friends of friends of friends of friends. If you know what I mean.”

The boy turned his head towards his friend, and only his dark eyes could be seen over the fridge door. Somehow, with his smile obscured, he almost looked angry…or pained.

“You still like sprite, right?”

The boy shut the fridge door and in his hands were two drinks: a sprite and a coke. This would not have been suspicious if it was not well known that Kida hated sprite. He had been keeping it in his apartment for Mikado in case he came over, but for some reason he never had. Still, every month, Kida would throw the box of sprite out and get a new one. He wanted his friend to be happy, no matter what. After handing him the sprite, he walked back to his living room area, which was messy. Random empty cans were sort of strewn about, along with video game controllers and magazines with swimsuit models on the cover. He sat down on a two-seat white couch, which was obviously somewhat old, and looked over at his friend.

“Well, I don’t know what we are doing tomorrow, but I doubly for sure don’t know what we are going to do tonight.”

What do you want
to do tonight?

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

Mikado’s face sprung into a smile. “Mmhm, thank Kida.” He took the drink from his friend’s hand and without even knowing that he was so thirsty, he gulped down the drink in one go. “Ahh~”

Once his thirst was quenched he realized something. Kida doesn’t like Sprite at all so why would he have it in his refrigerator in the first place? Could it have been for him, to have something to drink when he came over? But that was the thing, thinking back on it this was one of the few times, if not the first time Mikado was over Kida’s house.

A slight blush couldn’t be helped to spread across his cheeks as he came to this conclusion, the conclusion that his friend cared so much for him that he brought his favorite drink for him to have in the apartment even though Kida didn’t like it and had no need for it.

Mikado threw away his can and followed Kida out into the living and took off his book-bag before sitting next to Kida on the couch.

“Well first…let me change into more comfortable clothes. If I’m going to spend the weekend here I can’t mess up my uniform.” He got once more and grabbed his spare gym clothes from it.

He quickly found a spare room and changed, and then he went back out to the living room and grabbed a few of the spare cans lying around. “I know this isn’t my place to say but shouldn’t we at least clean this place up? If we are going to have girls come over, this place has to be presentable. So that’s what we are going to do tonight.”

“Come on you better help me, I’m not going to do all the work, now hide those magazines…” his face was blushing a bit more now. “It wouldn’t be respectful of us to have them spread around the room…”

“And I know you live by yourself…but this place…it looks nice, but man…are you lazy…” Mikado chuckled and teased his friend. He wasn’t one to be that tidy either but still if he was going to go along with Kida’s plan, he was going to try and make it work.

[Deleted]

The boy watched the other demolish his drink with a strange sense of accomplishment. It was possible that all that money wasted wasn’t for nothing. It was actually worth it to see the smile on his friend’s face. Although Mikado’s smile wasn’t rare, it was true, unlike Kida’s. A strange sense of pride welled up with the knowledge that he put it there.

Kida watched as his friend walked into the spare room, but lay back across the couch, which was so short his feet dangled off, and closed his eyes, uncaring.

“It’s not like I don’t have a washer downstairs.”

Still, when his friend came back, Kida opened his eyes and went into the spare room as well, changing out of his uniform as well and even removing his standard white hoodie, tossing the giant wad of fabric into his hamper. He emerged moments later, but as his friend spieled the idea of cleaning to him, his face fell, along with his arms, in a dramatic act of showman ship that would make a true actor cringe.

“C-Cleaning? That’s your idea of fun?”

Of course, Kida would be the first to admit that ladies liked a man with a clean bachelor pad, but really, he was a teenage boy. The last thing he wanted to do on a Friday night was play hide-and-seek with the month old gum wrappers under his sofa. Resigned, he dragged himself back into living room, and under the scrutinizing face of the other boy, he began to slowly put the dirty magazines into a small pile, his face still jokingly pained.

“Really, what if the girls find these? Then I’ll look like even more of a pervert.”

Still, the magazines were stashed into the closet, and slowly, the boys removed most of the litter from the room. After the trash was disposed of, Kida walked back to the closet, and after much digging, removed a vacuum which was so new, the tags were still on it. He pulled out a small plastic pouch with bags in it, and even after reading it; Kida had some difficulty attaching one to the vacuum, cursing the thing the whole way. The two continued to clean, but as the night wore on, they began to feel tired and hungry once again. Kida stopped vacuuming and fell upon the handle like a limp body.

“This is clean enough don’t you think?”

With a jerk, he yanked the cord from the wall and slowly wrapped them around the cleaner, which he returned to its dejected spot in the closet while complaining about how heavy it was. After he shut the doors, he leaned back against them and looked towards Mikado.

“These girls tomorrow better be worth it., huh?” He asked, smiling.
“Are you hungry? We can make something to eat.”

Without waiting for an answer, Kida walked over to his kitchen and removed a pot and two bags of cheap noodles. Most of his friends would have never expected for him to be able to do such things, but he had found them necessary from his solitary life. One could only eat (and afford) so many cheeseburgers. With the precision that comes from repeated practice, he cooked the noodles in a perfect amount of water, so they were neither dry nor soupy. As they cooked, he put in vegetables and ham, and then closed a glass lid over top to allow the flavors to absorb into the noodles. At the end, he removed the lid and smiled, moving over so Mikado could see inside.

“TA-DA. Super special Kidalicious MASAOMICHAN RAMEN”

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

Mikado just laughed to himself as he heard Kida whine and groan about cleaning the apartment, and he helped finishing tidying the living room and then quickly followed after Kida to the kitchen. His stomach was growling too loudly and that caused his face to turn pink from embarrassment.

He was actually not surprised to see Kida pull out some food and being to cook, after all living by one’s self did sort of require that one have that skill. He watched Kida cook the noodles to perfection and added the vegetables and ham.

Mmmm…it may be just your regular noodles but just adding those little treats make it a lot more appetizing…

He would know, after all he lived by himself too and all he ate on regular bases was ramen noodles. But he didn’t have the extra money to get vegetables and ham so his mouth somewhat drooled, but he caught himself and cleaned his cheek with his sleeve.

“Whoa Kida, that looks really good!” Mikado was impressed, it really did look delicious. So then he took his bowl from Kida and went back to sit on the floor and place his bowl on the small table in front of him.

“Thanks for the food!” he clapped his hands and then pulled apart his chopsticks and began to eat. “Ah…Ah! It’s hot! But sooooo good!”

It might have been hot but he finished the whole bowl and sighed contently. “Thanks Kida. That really hit the spot. You have to have a special trick, because they were still the same noodles I eat but really it tasted completely different from how I make them.”

Mikado leaned his back onto the couch and waited for Kida to finish his bowl too. Once he saw that they were both done he quickly picked up the plates and headed back into the kitchen to wash them, he was staying for the weekend for free, he felt as if he needed to do something to earn his stay.

With plates washed and cleaned and put away he sneaked his way to the living room and attacked his best friend who was playing video games.

“Come on you, it’s been forever since we hanged out like this. You are not spending the night absorbed in the RPG dating game; it won’t give you any advice on how to pick up girls. Even I know that.” Mikado laughed and continued tackling his friend.

[Deleted]

“Thanks” The words barely formed around the stream of noodles making their way up into Kida’s mouth. After preparing Mikado a bowl, the other boy picked up a pot and began to slurp the remaining noodles out like a child. He didn’t like making anymore dishes than necessary. Even as the two left the stovetop, which turned off with an audible ‘click’, it glowed faintly, refusing to cool. It was in a way like their friendship, undying and stubborn. It seemed like if distance failed to separate them, nothing could. While glancing around the kitchen, making sure everything was in place, Kida thought about their friendship. Did Mikado remember? When they were smaller, they had eaten ramen like this before…. After reassuring himself that everything was fine, Kida walked over, still thinking, and crossed his legs in an informal manner at the table while holding his pan up, lest the hot copper bottom burn something. There had been so much that had happened since then. All the memories of their childhood seemed…far away.

As they ate their dinner, and as his friend complimented him, the boy did his best to sound humble. He didn’t really deserve such remarks. He had failed to even invite his friend over until now. A part of him felt glad that Ryuugamine seemed to enjoy it so much, but another part chided himself over his almost avoidance of his best friend.

“….It’s not really that good. You’re acting like I made the noodles from scratch or something. The only thing I did was throw stuff into the pot.”

As the boys finished eating, Kida watched as his friend forcibly did the dishes. It was nice that he didn’t have to do them, but guests weren’t supposed to do the dishes, were they? Still, as Kida watched his companion, it occurred to him that Mikado felt that he had to something. This was a feeling he could sympathize with.

As Kida waited, he loaded up his notebook and checked his messages. As usual, no one had anything to say to him. He was stuck in his normal life now. Only Mikado and Sonohara to keep him company. Although he wasn’t complaining, it was strange to face an empty mailbox. Bored, he loaded up a stupid dating sim he had downloaded. He was halfway through botching an internet date when his friend caught him in the act. Quickly, like a child caught doing something bad, he turned and countered:

“…………….At least I don’t say ‘Press Tab for Yes’…Usually”

The boy set the computer aside just before he fell onto his back because of his friend’s forceful affection. He laughed, pushing the other boy and rolling him on the couch. Kida lifted his friend up, ruffling his hair playfully, like an older brother.

“You know, fighting isn’t really your best bet. You move like an AC Unit.” He played on the other boy’s name, which he knew bothered him, but then added semi-seriously:

“It’s getting late. There isn’t much to do….EXCEPT WRESTLE”

With this, Kida tackled his friend, attempting to pin him to the couch like they did when they were little.

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

Mikado laughed, “I so do not move like an AC unit!” he yelled out trying to get out of Kida’s hold.

“I might not be as strong as you Kida, but still you won’t pin me down that easily!” After so many failed attempts and Kida trying to get him pinned down couch like when they were little; Mikado actually managed to reverse their positions and roll over so that instead they fell to the hardwood floor.

“Haha didn’t see that coming did you?” he smirked down towards his best friend. It was times like these that brought back memories of when they were younger, and Mikado had to wonder why and how they ever became friends. After all their personalities were so different, and they seemed to attract different types of people. Mikado had always been introverted and sheltered by his parents, and Kida on the other hand was outgoing and basically given freedom to do whatever he wanted and he looked like he had the most fun out of it as well.

However he was glad they became friends, even if the incident that caused them to be friends seemed very cliché. It was back in elementary school; Mikado had stayed behind in the classroom to help the teacher gather the children’s homework. He was sitting quietly at his desk when suddenly. Wham! A baseball came shooting through the open window and hit the innocent wall of the classroom. He blinked in both surprise and confusion.

A baseball…? He stood up to pick up the baseball and while he was examining it, a boy came rushing into the classroom. The boy asked if the ball hit him and if Mikado was okay. Mikado just nodded and said no harm was done except to the poor wall that was now sporting a nice small dent. Fearing that they both might get in trouble for this accident, Mikado was grabbed by the hand by the baseball boy and brought out to the field. Out on the field the boy, who called himself Kida, introduced himself and seeing that Mikado was the shy type, practically forced him to play with his friends, which he did, after all it was fun and he did want some friends.

So they became friends, Kida and him, but then when Kida moved away he was afraid that they wouldn’t be able to stay in touch. Luckily as soon as Mikado got his computer years later they were able to reconnect and eventually get persuaded to move to Ikebukuro and well the story just went from there.

Getting back to the situation at hand Mikado still had Kida underneath him. Grinning he leaned down to his friend and whispered. “You stink!” and Mikado pulled back laughing.

“Though I’m sure I am too…come on lets hit the showers and then play some video games, I can assure you I’ve gotten better at them…I think.” He got up and extended an arm to his best friend.

“Well come on, or are you going to lay there all night?” Mikado smiled.

[Deleted]

The floor was hard and cold under Kida’s back, but it was a welcome feeling. It had been far too long since he and Mikado had been able to be this close. Sure, they hugged and jumped on each other in school, but in their culture, there was only so much two boys could do in public. Wrestling was not one of those things.

“I really didn’t…You being so weak and all.”

The sarcastic comment was accompanied by an equally joking smile as the boy used all his strength to sit up, pushing the other off by pressing his palms against the boy’s shoulders. The old Mikado would have never done something so daring. It was hard to imagine them. Back on that field. Kida’s friends always called Mikado ‘That girl’ behind his back. The first time he had tried to bat, it wasn’t the ball that flew. Baseball really wasn’t Ryuugamine’s thing. Still, there was something about the boy that Masaomi liked. He wasn’t just one of the many one-dimensional friends that are only of use during school hours. To Kida, Mikado was something more.

“ I do not stink! I smell like a man! Ladies like men who smell like MEN!”

Still, even as Kida crossed his arms, he couldn’t help but realize that a shower was a good idea. He probably did stink. What would his friend think if he went around smelling like some sweaty bum? Resigned, the boy rose and tossed his friend the remote control to the television set, (recently rescued from under the seat cushions) and walked into the shower room.
As the water began to pour down from the facet head, Kida couldn’t help but think that it was odd to have someone over as he bathed. Was Mikado listening? Could he hear if the shampoo fell? What if he began to sing? Would he join in? Say something? Ignore it?

The boy, who normally was normally so ostentatious did none of these things, as tonight, he was out to impress. He seriously doubted that Mikado would care if he began to sing the opening theme to a T.V. drama, but the resulting conversation could be awkward. Still, the question remained…Why did he care so much?
Around thirty minutes later, the boy emerged from the shower room, a towel atop his wet semi-permanent blonde hair. He was too lazy to fully dry his body, and thusly he had avoided a shirt, lest he drip everywhere. The couch soon fell victim to this however, and a dark wet spot emerged where his hair touched it. It would dry eventually.

“What do you want to play?”

Under the television, there was a large pile of video game controllers, wrapped up and tangled in no particular order. They were all put away due to the cleaning streak, but months of laziness led to random wires scattered about and games placed in random cases. It was the life of a bachelor, that was for sure.

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

Mikado caught the television remote but it almost slipped out if his hands, he still wasn’t very coordinated, that much from elementary school hadn’t changed. Back then he wasn’t really affected by the jokes and snickers behind his back of being called a girl and such, the reason why he wasn’t so affected was because Kida always stood up for him. He really appreciates Kida for being such a good friend to him like that.

He watched Kida leave to go take a shower, Mikado decided to flip through the channels to see if anything interesting was playing. Finally he decided just to watch the local news, after all he wanted to keep note if they had to watch out for anything odd going on in Ikebukuro.

“Ah there is Celty-san…” Mikado watched as the headless rider drove across the screen of the television, the motor of her cycle neighing like a horse. Shivers ran down his spine as he remembered the first encounter he had with her. It was such an exhilarating moment, one he would never forget, he was so glad it happened on his first day at Ikebukuro.

With Celty gone, the camera moved the scene so now it was focused on Shizuo chasing Izaya with a stop sign…again. Mikado just laughed at that, it would seem those two could never stop hating each other. He knew he would never have enough courage to actually ask them, but he really was curious as to why they didn’t like each and naïvely hoped that they would be able to get along one day.

As soon as that foolish though was over with he heard Kida exit out of the bathroom and set his still semi wet self on the couch. He couldn’t help but chuckling at his friend. Mikado quickly went over and set up the game system and plugged in a typical mortal combat/ street fighter game. It was one of his favorites even though Kida always managed to defeat his at it. Still he tried and one day he knew he was going to win a round, and he felt tonight could be the night. So once he handed Kida his controller he pressed start and off they went.

However Mikado was proven wrong yet again as he finally gave up trying to win after 16 straight rounds. He sighed and then went to change the game to a racing one, after another half hour of that Mikado decided to put in a RPG game. Kida and him were assigned to a team and went off at their magical quest in the game. After another twos hours it was starting to get really late but Mikado was so absorbed in the game that he could hardly tell that Kida was falling asleep on him.

“Hey hey! Don’t sleep on me now! We’re about to face the main boss and you can’t let me die! You hear me Kida!”

[Deleted]

After he spent the day wandering the city with his friend in search of women to accost, Kida could not help but feel that the shower water was the greatest thing in the world. The water flowed down his body, washing away the day in a small flood of goodness. As he put shampoo in his hair (the label promised that the scent would attract women) he begin to sing a popular song from America out of habit.

“My Chick bad! My chick hood! My chick do stuff-“

That was right. Mikado was over. Embarassed, Masaomi dropped the shampoo bottle and flinched as it crashed into the bottom of the shower. What if his friend had heard all of this!? He was probably pressed against the door already, trying not to laugh.

If Kida was this embarrassing around his best friend, there was no wonder he didn’t have a girl around.

Shortly after he rinsed the sweet-smelling soap from his hair, Kida brushed his teeth in the mirror, as he had long ago realized that his pick-up lines would never work if they weren’t accompanied by a class-A smile. From the other room, he could hear the television blaring. There was a possibility Mikado hadn’t heard. As he exited the bathroom and sat down, he could not help but flinch as his friend laughed at him. He had heard!!!!

…..Or was it just because he was wet?

After playing a few rounds of the Mortal Combat game, it seemed that Mikado had gotten annoyed with Kida’s incessant victories and repeated chants of

”FINISH HIM!”

They played another game, but as soon as Mikado’s character loaded onto the screen, Kida knew they would have no chance in online play. His friend was still a level 47 mage. Most eight year olds were at least level 87 dark knights! Everyone knew that.
It was probably because Mikado spent so much of his time chatting with other people online rather than playing video games.

After they were sufficiently pwn’ed a few hundred times, Kida threw his headset down and laid across the couch, his controller hanging limply from his hand.

“The main boss is a 4356.981 spider-robot-machine-monster. You are going to die anyway.”

The comment was made with the bluntness that comes from a lack of sleep. As Masaomi said it, his mouth opened in a wide yawn.

Where was Mikado going to sleep anyways?

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

With Kida about to pass out and no longer had control over his video game remote, Mikado quickly lost against the main boss and it was GAME OVER. He sighed and put down his own controller as well then slowly inched his way to Kida’s side of the floor.

Mikado yawned as the rush from the RPG game wore down and he snuggled up to Kida’s side, laying his head on his best friend’s shoulder.

“So what are the sleeping arrangements Kida? Or are we just going to sleep on the floor?” After spending a minute in silence just listening to each other’s slow and steady breathing, Mikado finally got up from his comfortable position and walked down the hall to Kida’s room.

He arrived at his friend’s room, looked around and saw its wall covered in posters, then Mikado looked down to the floor to make sure he didn’t step on whatever was lying on that covered carpet. If Mikado’s room back at this apartment was empty, Kida’s room was the complete opposite. The way they keep their rooms just showed another way they were different, yet Mikado grinned because he liked the way Kida’s room looked. It was brimming with energy and had a positive feeling throughout it, just like Kida’s personality was.

With that in mind Mikado finally headed over to the closet opening it up to look for an extra futon so he could pull out and sleep on. After not finding any it really didn’t surprise him that Kida didn’t keep a spare futon since he remembered the blond boy mentioning that he usually didn’t bring many people over to hang out let alone spend the night. So Mikado did the next best thing to get ready for his sleeping arrangement and grabbed an extra pillow from the closet.

Mikado then poked his head back out into the hallway and called for his best friend.

“Well what’s taking you so long Kida? Or did you actually fall asleep on the couch? If you don’t hurry up I’ll just take all the blankets and leave you shivering in the cold!”