Brotherly Surprise

[UndergroundGod]

When Izaya had received the text message late last night asking that he meet Shiki at his office early the next morning, he'd been endlessly surprised. It was rare, after all, for Shiki to call him to his office for a private meeting. They would typically be more likely to set up a rendezvous point in some random place in the city for an exchange of information or goods. For a business related topic, Shiki would meet him in the private room of a high class restaurant to discuss such dealings over dinner.

Meeting at Shiki's office was certainly an oddity, and Izaya could only assume it meant that something serious was going on, though far be it from him to know what. Shiki was the one topic that Izaya found so often was still a mystery, one that, for his own good, Izaya was fine with keeping that way.

Regardless, Izaya had woken up early that morning to get to Shiki's office on time—the man didn't appreciate tardiness, and Izaya had no intentions of crossing him. Though Izaya was technically in business for himself, Shiki was his mentor, his teacher, and, in some ways, something of his boss. If nothing else, if it wasn't for Shiki, Izaya wouldn't be where he was today, and if Shiki didn't have continued approval of Izaya's operations, it wouldn't be very long at all before Izaya was out of a job (and even more likely, dead). Luckily, despite Shiki's role as the badass leader of this particular branch of the Yakuza (and the often extreme actions that were required of him to remain authority in that position), he always seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for Izaya.

A spot that Izaya had no desire to lose, meaning that even if he had to get up hours earlier than he would have preferred, he would do it for Shiki.

When Izaya showed up, a broad shouldered bodyguard escorted him to a private room and asked him to wait, claiming that they were waiting on one other person to join them before Mr. Shiki would join them.

Izaya's interests were sparked further as the man left the room. They were meeting up with someone else, as well? The information broker wondered who it could be, bouncing his foot in eager anticipation of the information that was to be revealed.

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

When Mikado received the text message late last night telling him he had a meeting with Shiki, the very power and intimidating yakuza leader of all Ikebukuro, he grew a bit scared. What would a yakuza leader want with him?

Mikado was very careful on how he treated his Blue Squares, making sure they did not get into any serious trouble to involve themselves with the Yakuza. To him, his blue squares were just a group of punk kids going out to have fun and spread a bit of chaos from time to time. It brought Mikado a bit more of excitement than when he was the leader of the Dollars, but not enough excitement that it overwhelmed him.

Mikado had only met Shiki a few times during his stay in Ikebukuro, but they were always brief chance encounters. Though during those few times, Mikado learned from the beginning that Shiki was not a man to cross, not unless you had a death wish.

So from this it was safe to say that Mikado dreaded meeting up with Shiki at his office the next morning. He just hoped he didn’t get lost and end up being late, that would not work at his favor at all. He set his alarm to go off very early in the morning, it was much earlier than he was used to that he hit the snooze buttons a few times while half-asleep that in fact he almost overslept.

Running out of his apartment and to Shiki’s office, he was out of breath when he finally made it in time thankfully. Mikado was then directed to Shiki’s office and once he opened the door and stepped in, the first person he saw was not Shiki at his desk but rather Izaya.

“Izaya-san? Why are you here?” Mikado then hesitantly went to take a seat close, if not next to Izaya. He was very curious to why the information broker was there.

[UndergroundGod]

Izaya had only been waiting for about five minutes or so (which was expected. Shiki shouldn't be made to wait for his guests, but the guests could wait as long as Shiki needed them too, after all), when their other anticipated guest arrived.

Izaya's eyes widened at the sight of the boy who entered the office next. Mikado? What the hell was Mikado doing there? Izaya's brain was suddenly racing with possibility… What could Shiki want with Mikado? The boy was interesting, that was for sure, and he was currently leading both the Dollars and the Blue Squares… but in comparison, Mikado was small time and despite his dangerous streak, he was still… so soft-hearted, so young (Izaya didn't want to consider that he's only been twelve when Shiki had first taken him under his wing, three years before Mikado's age now). What business could Shiki have with Mikado?

Perhaps more importantly, if they were both being called into a meeting here, what business did Shiki have with the both of them? What, exactly, did Izaya and Mikado share that Shiki needed to speak to both of them?

Of course, Izaya realized, he was jumping to conclusions, and maybe, somehow, Mikado wasn't here to see Shiki at all, though Izaya had his doubt about that. What else could Mikado be here for, after all?

Instead of speculate wildly, Izaya decided that the straightforward approach was his best bet. He shrugged casually and answered Mikado's question. "I got a message from Shiki last night that he wanted to meet with me." Though really, Izaya met with Shiki all the time, just usually under different circumstances, so this was only unusual because of the setting. He leaned back in his chair, aiming a curious grin at Mikado. "The real question here is, why are you here?"

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

Mikado sat nervously in his seat, his hands holding tightly to his knees as he awkwardly shifted around his space. But he told himself that he had calm down and just answer Izaya’s question completely calm.

“I-I also received a message from Shiki-san that I had to come to his office immediately. He did not say much after that I am afraid, so I can’t answer you to why I am here. I just hope I didn’t do anything that upset him. I was confident that I have kept the Blue Squares in check…”

Mikado’s gaze was intensely focused to this one spot on the floor as he took in detail insight to the patterns of the tiles. Letting out the information that he was involved with the Blue Squares to Izaya probably wasn’t a good idea, however knowing just how well Izaya was at his job as the Information Broker, Mikado guessed Izaya already knew. After all Aoba kept telling him that he detested Izaya very much and how he kept messing with their plans.

On the other hand, Mikado actually did not mind Izaya very much. He knew he should not cross the guy, but he wasn’t scared of him, and Izaya sometimes was a very useful ally. With that in mind Mikado’s mind began to drift off to why Shiki-san would have called them both to meet him. He understood that Izaya was a very helpful person with information and connections, but just what could Mikado offer? Brute strength of his Blue Squares?

Mikado shook his head at the ridiculous thought. The Blue Squares were just a riled group of kids, they were not a threat to anyone…yet.

Looking over to Izaya, Mikado asked. “But do you know why Shiki could have called us?”

[UndergroundGod]

He watched the boy squirm in his seat anxiously at his question, and Izaya already knew that Mikado was as clueless about all this as he was. It was interesting that Izaya could be so aware of this boy's dark potential and yet… think that he looked so sweet and naïve sitting there nervously in his seat, as if he would rather be anywhere else in the world. Izaya knew what the boy was capable of (or at least what he would be capable of), but looking at him know… most people would never be able to guess it.

Of course, Izaya, too, has once been a young boy. It had been years ago, but Izaya had, at one point, been innocent. He knew exactly how far someone could fall.

Mikado seemed afraid that he was actually in trouble, that maybe one of his Blue Squares members had crossed some line into Shiki's territory, or something, though Izaya highly doubted that. Shiki didn't often have polite sit down meetings with people he had problems with. No, he'd communicate that message with Mikado in a very different way… besides, that wouldn't explain what Izaya was doing here.

In response to Mikado, he said casually, "No, no idea," but he made sure to aim a reassuring grin at the boy, "Though it's almost definitely not because you're in trouble. You'd know if this was because you were in trouble."

It turned out that they only had to wait another thirty seconds before Shiki entered the room with a grim look on his face. Just his appearance made Izaya sit up a bit straighter in his chair.

The man sat behind his desk, sliding some things to one side in a neat pile before he looked at the both of them with that serious expression on his face.

"Thank you, gentlemen, for meeting with me here today on such short notice," Shiki was as polite as ever, of course, "I know it was sudden… but these are sudden times, and I have some things to share with the both of you."

Izaya was practically holding his breath in anticipation. What in the world was the man going to reveal to them.

"First of all, the reason I've called this meeting…" Shiki leaned forward, his elbows on the desk, his fingers intertwining and creating a resting spot for his chin. "I've been seeing doctors for a few weeks now and the consensus is pretty clear. I have a brain tumor. It's inoperable and there's very little treatment can do to help. I've been given, at best, a year to live."

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

Mikado let out a soft sigh of relief, and held his chest when he heard from Izaya that he wasn’t in the office to meet Shiki because he was in trouble.

“Well that’s good to know…” it was all Mikado got to say before half a minute later, Shiki came into his office and sat at his desk and peered over at Izaya and Mikado with a serious expression.

"Thank you, gentlemen, for meeting with me here today on such short notice,"

"I know it was sudden… but these are sudden times, and I have some things to share with the both of you."

Mikado was growing more curious by the second that he was practically on the edge of his seat when he listened to the yakuza leader, but he somehow managed to remain calm.

"I've been seeing doctors for a few weeks now and the consensus is pretty clear. I have a brain tumor. It's inoperable and there's very little treatment can do to help. I've been given, at best, a year to live."

Mikado blinked at the news, it quite not registering with him what Shiki had said. Brain Tumor? One year to live?

However, once it did click in his head the gravity of news Shiki had just told them, Mikado just calmly stated. “So, in light of this news, you called Izaya and I to perhaps learn to overtake your organization of the Yakuza? The reason for that because is such a well Izaya is such an informed broker who probably knows all of your clients to begin with, and then I who in just a few years time with my Dollars and Blue Squares, gives you the chance to make sure your legacy continues to grow and withstand the nature of time…”

Then Mikado titled his head to the side, “Am I right Shiki-san?”

[UndergroundGod]

Shiki paused and the information broker froze, unsure of how to feel. He supposed that shock was the first natural reaction to such information and he figured there was no sense in fighting it. He sat quietly, staring blankly ahead as he tried to process what he'd just been told, unsure of how he was supposed to swallow it.

It was probably something he shouldn't think about now. There would be time to examine the complex rope of anger, admiration, mistrust, and respect that bound him to Shiki later. Digging through an emotional minefield wasn't what Shiki had called them in for, after all. Since Izaya wasn't sure how the information would affect him, once explored, he thought it better to just breathe deeply and listen.

Mikado, bold for a boy such as himself, suddenly decided to speak up and Izaya's head turned to him. There were days when Izaya found something about Mikado… quite eerie. He knew the boy had a hunger, a darkness, buried deep inside of him. He'd known that darkness had come through on a few occasions. Something of the eerie abyss shone through in the way Mikado seemed to talk so freely to the man who led the Awakasu group.

Shiki's eyebrows moved up slightly, indicating his apparent surprise that Mikado had spoken as well.

"You're partially correct," Shiki said, "but it's a bit more complicated than that. You two, the both of you…" Shiki paused then, taking a deep breath before continuing, "You're my biological sons."

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

Whatever response Mikado was hoping to receive from Shiki, the one that he heard come out was definitely one he did not foresee.

Biological son?

No, that could not be true. For as far as he knew Mikado’s parents had grown up in their small town and harvested rice patties for all their life. There was just no way Mikado could be son of Shiki, and as he turned his head to the side to take a look at Izaya, and be the information broker’s brother. There was just no way it made sense in his head.

“W-What?” Mikado stuttered out, all the calmness from before gone in a blink of an eye.

“Your biological sons? Forgive me Shiki-san but could you please explain how? I am nothing but a simple country boy, how am I your son?” Mikado needed answers, and he needed them now.

[UndergroundGod]

If Izaya had been shocked before, he was surprised his jaw hadn't dropped this time. He spent a minute letting the information soak in, feeling a bit more comfortable in his ability to handle it this time. Hearing Shiki was dying was one thing, but he was his son…

But… deep down, Izaya somehow knew it was true. Ever since he was young, Izaya had suspected that his father wasn't his father. They didn't… look alike, they didn't act alike, and while some people could attribute that to the fact that Izaya's father had never been at home… Well, Izaya's mother hadn't been either, and yet he could see those similarities, there were ways that they looked alike, moved alike, smiled alike… But Izaya saw none of that with his father.

He'd never gone so far as to actually think his mother had been with someone else, and especially not Shiki, but…

If Shiki said Izaya was his son, he believed it.

Mikado spoke up first and Izaya looked his way. Izaya supposed his reaction was the more normal one—disbelief. After all, how Shiki had managed to father both of them… Izaya was unsure. As ready as he was to accept Shiki's relationship to him, he'd still like to hear the story behind it, and why neither of them had heard about this until now.

"To be honest, that's all I hoped you would be," Shiki replied to Mikado solemnly. "Allow me to explain. Eighteen years ago, I met your mother, Midori. I was the head of a small crew, I'd been working with the yakuza for a while and I was moving up. Your father, Yasuo, and I had been friends for years and he was my second in command. Midori joined us and it wasn't long before we were dating and fell in love. We had plans to get married when I found out she was pregnant.

"But times were rough and the rival gangs were vicious." The more Shiki spoke, the more unfocused his eyes became, as if he was replaying the memories of those days in his head. "Knowing that Midori was a weakness of mine, rival members began to send threats about her and she was even captured at one point. I decided, with a heavy heart, that it was too dangerous for her in the city, and that she and my unborn son would be better off living in an environment away from the gang life. I didn't want her to go alone though, because Midori had never been cut out for this life and wouldn't be able to defend herself if she was ever found. I knew, though, that Yasuo had been concerned with how serious things had gotten and was looking for a way out as well.

"So through a few underground channels, we created new identities for them, new names, and sent them far away from the city to some quiet little farming town where they could live out their lives and raise their son in peace. I missed Midori, of course, and Yasuo as well, and I hated giving up my son, but I knew it was for the best and I knew I could trust Midori and Yasuo to raise you well."

Shiki's eyes focused again on Mikado as he brought himself back to the present. "The intention was to keep you away from Ikebukuro completely. I never wanted to have to have this conversation with you, but… as they say, blood calls to blood. Even removed far from the city, you still managed to create the Dollars and gather a gang of followers. Once you were here, you took control of your members and even became the leader of another gang. It was as if being a leader of the underground world was simply in your blood."

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

If Mikado hoped in that getting his answers would make everything more understandable, he was wrong.

As he sat back down in his chair and listened to Shiki’s tale between him and his mother, Mikado just sat there in a daze. But as Shiki was nearing the end of his back-story, it was slowly making sense in his head that his dad was really not his dad.

When Mikado was growing up, even as a small child he could see that he and his dad didn’t look very much alike. As he pointed this out to his mother, she just innocently laughed at his crazy imagination and told him that it was because Mikado took more after her.

However they were not different in just looks alone, but simply the way they interacted with each other. Mikado’s “dad” kept his distance from Mikado and mostly just worked on the rice patty fields all day and drank his cold beers at night watching the new of the city.

Mikado remembered that his “dad” would always be alert if anything concerning the underground world would be mentioned. It made sense why he did so now because he would always want to know how Shiki, his former boss, was doing. But in general, Mikado was not even allowed to watch the news with his dad, It was too violent for a kid his age, his mom would say.

There was also the one time Mikado’s “dad” tried to have a connecting moment, but really it was just him trying to teach Mikado how to tend to the rice field. He would insist that it was a safe and stable job and he would have to take over it one day so it was best to start now. Mikado did not want to be stuck doing something so boring and simply refused.

Never had Mikado’s dad ever been more upset that Mikado didn’t do what he wanted. In short they then had an argument and Mikado went and bought his computer, then locked himself in his room separating himself even more from his parents.

The rest was history from that, the next year Mikado moved to Ikebukuro and formed the Dollars, then with time took over the Blue Squares.

So hearing straight from Shiki’s mouth that he was his dad and that taking over gangs was in his blood made so much sense, even if he didn’t want to believe it at first. Shaking his head, wrapping his head around the idea he was Shiki’s son, then another question arose.

“Wait…I guess I understand I am your son, but how is Izaya my brother?”

[UndergroundGod]

Izaya listened as Shiki explained Mikado's half of this story, patient enough to wait for his own. He didn't have the suspended belief that Mikado did, so it was alright to wait and it was interesting to find out such things about Shiki. Though relatively close to the man, Izaya never really had a window into his personal life… though that made sense now, if the man had meant to keep this a secret from the both of them.

At the end of the tale, Mikado seemed to mull it over, ultimately deciding that he believed it. And then he asked the question that Izaya would have if Mikado hadn't beaten him to it, and Izaya's gaze turned back to Shiki.

The man nodded, knowing he couldn't tell one story without telling the other, and began, "I was younger when I met Kyouko, just out of high school, and though I cared for her, we were never very close. She knew the life I wanted to live and she didn't want to be a part of that, so she kept her distance from me. But one night there was an accident and within a few weeks she began acting strangely, avoiding me more. I knew she was pregnant, but I didn't confront her about it.

"Meanwhile, I knew she'd been approached by a young businessman named Shirou and I began to see her around him more often. I was angry that she would hide her pregnancy and chose some other man to father my child, but I controlled myself and let the two of them run off together." He looked seriously at Izaya, "But as long as you remained in the city, I always knew I would come to reclaim you and teach you the ways of the underground."

Izaya leaned back in his chair, grinning lightly, "Well, you certainly did that."

[Mikado Ryuugamine]

Mikado titled his head to the side as Shiki revealed the background story of Izaya’s coming to be and was surprised that it was more estranged than his own. What surprised him the most was what Shiki said,

For Izaya: I always knew I would come to reclaim you and teach you the ways of the underground

And for himself: To be honest, that's all I hoped you would be Referring to the point of him staying a country boy and becoming a nobody.

Mikado then thought, why such a different approach to each of his sons? Why would teaching Izaya the ways of the underworld be alright, but it was best if Mikado stay just an ignorant country boy? Perhaps he was reading to much into it, but it irritated him to the point that he just stayed silent and clenched the hands that were on his lap tightly.

Mikado couldn’t stay quiet forever though, his curiosity was getting the better of him and he wanted to know exactly why Shiki had called them there besides letting in on the huge revelation that he was their dad. Letting out a soft sigh Mikado unclenched his hands and asked.

“What do you want us to do for you then Shiki-san?” In the back of his mind Mikado was sure he was not going to call Shiki father anytime soon.