Daddy's Little Girl

[unicornhunter]

Wouldn't you like to know.

Mamoru took that as a yes.

Ignoring the pain in his side once more, he ran up to the two girls, the chloroform in one hand and the knife in the other. He lunged for the loudmouth - she looked and sounded like the one who would be the bigger pain in the ass to deal with conscious, and her sister looked as though she'd be easier to intimidate - and grabbed her, first with the arm that held the knife. He then brought the other hand around, pressing the cloth over her nose and mouth. He pressed the knife to her neck, glaring at the other one.

"I'm only going to ask this once more." Though he was pretty sure that they were. "Are you related to Izaya Orihara?" If they weren't, he'd just treat them like he treated the others. But if they were . . . he had special plans for them.

[UndergroundGod]

Unfortunately, they hadn't started running fast enough to put distance between themselves and the creepy old man, and suddenly, Mairu found her wrist in his grasp. She struggled for a moment, kicked his shin (though it didn't seem to phrase him), and then his hand brought a cloth over her mouth. As much as she could, she tried to push him away, even with the knife at her neck (if she was going to die, it would happen whether or not she fought after all, and she fully meant to go down fighting), but as she tried to breathe through his smothering hand, the sickly sweet chemical smell was slowly prying lose her grip on consciousness.

By the time he was holding her tight against him, by the time he spoke to her sister, she had gone limp in his arms.

Kururi was left standing alone, trembling and terrified at the sight of the man threatening her now unconscious sister, and she suddenly didn't have much of a choice. She was certain that the man wouldn't hesitate to kill her or her sister at the drop of a hat, and her only hope was that cooperating would prevent that a little longer.

In a small voice, she squeaked out, "yes," and waited for whatever horrors he had planned to follow.

[unicornhunter]

Mamoru grinned at Kururi. To show that she had done a good job, he lowered the knife just enough so that the whole blade wasn't pressing against Mairu's throat. But the tip of the knife was still poised at Mairu's jugular - one false move, and Mairu would die.

"All right. If you do what I tell you to do exactly, I will refrain from killing you and your sister." For now. "You are not to go running to the cops. You are to tell Izaya Orihara that Mamoru Karisawa knows he lied, and if he doesn't come to my former home in twenty-four hours time with my daughter, I will do with this girl as I please. He'll understand what I mean. He's an information broker after all, right?"

He then let out a manic giggle - a giggle that was only appropriate for otaku squealing over their favorite anime or manga.

"And remember, not a word to anyone else about this, or your sister dies."

[UndergroundGod]

Kururi felt the smallest wave of relief wash over her as the length of the blade moved slightly away from her sister's neck, but she could hardly say she was comforted. This man… he was horrifying, he made her insides crawl and the last thing she wanted to do was leave her sister in his care… but it didn't seem as though she had a choice. As soon as it was apparent that he expected her to leave, she did so, turning and running putting several blocks of distance (and getting to a more populated street) before she suddenly whipped out her phone to send the quickest text message of her life, trying her best to remember exactly what the man had said, his exact phrasing, because she knew each syllable could be important to her brother.

After all, the devil was in the details.

We were attacked on our way to the dojo by a man named Mamoru Karisawa. He took Mairu. He says he knows you lied and that you have twenty four hours to go to his former house and bring his daughter with you or he'll do with Mairu as he pleases. You better fix this.

As much as she hated her brother sometimes, and as angry as she was that her brother's business had gotten her and her sister wrapped up in all of this… she had to believe he would handle this. If he didn't, if something happened to her sister… Kururi might just kill Izaya herself.

~~~

Izaya had been sitting in his office, impatiently waiting for news. He'd sent Namie home at lunch; he wanted to be alone. Erika had been texting him, but he had nothing to say to her, no updates anyway. He'd sent a text to Saki earlier to check on Kida's injuries and she said he would be fine, but he'd need to stay off his injuries a few days to heal up. Izaya had anticipated that much and he told them to just relax.

He knew he wasn't going to get anything done. Most of the day was spent staring blankly at his computer screen, wishing that this wasn't having such a terrible effect on him.

Right after three that afternoon, Izaya's phone buzzed again, another text. It was probably just Erika again, looking for news of some sort, though Izaya had heard nothing since Kida was attacked the previous night. He sighed heavily and reached for his phone.

And was shocked to see that it was a text from Kururi. Immediately, there was a sinking feeling in his gut that didn't bode well.

He opened the text, read it without breathing, and then nearly vomited. Mamoru… Mamoru had…

His head was suddenly spinning, and his first reaction as his hand gripped tightly around his phone was panic. He knew precisely what Mamoru did to girls like Mairu, but he suddenly wished he didn't know, because nothing his imagination could come up with would have been as horrible as the too real truth and every second his little sister was in that fucker's hands was a second he didn't have to waste.

Without warning, he felt his blood boiling and he was overcome with a sudden rage at his own damn helplessness. "Fuck!" he shouted, throwing his phone halfway across the office where it landed hard on the thin carpet. "Fuck!" he shouted again, louder, and shoved the pile of books off his desk. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" The office phone and the cup of pens both were smacked from the desk, and he pounded his fist down on his desk so hard that the sides of his hands went numb.

Then just as suddenly, Izaya's anger collapsed in on itself; he curled forward over his desk, his hands pushing into his hair as he hung his head over his desk, squeezing his eyes painfully closed as he forced himself to calm the fuck down, to breathe, just fucking breathe because if he didn't just calm down and THINK everything was surely lost.

He had to believe that until his 24 hours were up, Mairu would remain safe and completely untouched, otherwise he'd surely go insane.

He was still shaking as he forced himself up from his chair to collect his phone. The back had popped up and the battery had flown out, and he held his breath again that he hadn't broken it… but when he stuck it back together and turned it on, it seemed to be in working order and he inhaled deeply. Quickly, he sent Mairu a return text, telling her to get to the dojo and stay with Mikage until further notice. He knew the woman was more than capable of protecting his sister and the last thing he needed was two catastrophes on his hands.

The next text was urgent and brief and sent to Erika.

Something's happened. Where are you?

[unicornhunter]

Erika had been starting to get ready for the outing that Walker had planned for just the two of them. Korean BBQ! And Walker said something about a surprise?

But the anticipation over the outing didn't make her forget about her father and Izaya's plan. She was about to send him another text, asking him if any updates had come in, but then she saw that Izaya had texted her.

She paled as she read it. That wasn't good.

At home. Do you want me to meet you?

She closed her phone, then went back into the bedroom. Whatever it was, she couldn't do it in this short black dress. No, she'd need something more functional.

She was also going to pack her bag full of weapons. Just in case.

[UndergroundGod]

Still trembling and cursing himself for it, he dropped onto one of his not-infected couches to wait for a reply impatiently. His phone buzzed in his hands about a minute later and he opened it to read Erika's reply.

Quickly, he jumped up from his chair to get back on his computer, quickly looking up his location, Erika's location… and the place where Mamoru was captured, his home prior to his relocation to the mental hospital. It looked like the park was the closest landmark between all three.

The west side of Ikebukuro park, ASAP.

Since he had a longer journey ahead of him than Erika, he immediately locked his computer, locked the office, and headed out, quickly exiting his building and hailing a nearby taxi. Keeping focused on his destination, getting to the park as quickly as he could, was the only thing he could do to maintain his feeble grasp on his composure. He fidgeted as he sat in the back of the taxi, his fingers drumming on the seat next to him, turning his phone over and over in his hand.

It was all he could do to keep from losing it.

He jumped out of the taxi as it stopped in front of the park, tossing an excessive amount of money at the driver and sitting down on a nearby park bench to wait anxiously.

[unicornhunter]

Erika had just finished packing her bag with the last weapon she wanted to take with her when she got Izaya's next text. She nodded at her phone, as though that would tell Izaya that she was on her way. She then hurried out the door and started running to the park.

She was back in her usual black Chinese dress and boots, her hat threatening to fall off as she ran towards the park. She maneuvered her way through the people and the trees and the traffic on the way there.

Soon, she spotted Izaya on the bench, then hurried over to him. She was panting by the time she came to a stop in front of him, her bag slung over her shoulder. "Izaya.... What . . . happened . . . ?" She took a few deep breaths to help her calm down, and she sat next to Izaya, trying to get her heart rate down. She waited for Izaya to say something, but he was quiet for a worryingly long time. ". . . Izaya?"

[UndergroundGod]

It was only a moment or so before he saw Erika heading towards him and he tried to calm himself down, if for no other reason than he couldn't stand appearing rattled in front of other. He never lost his composure like this, and though he had a good reason to be a nervous wreck, it didn't mean he was okay looking like one. Fear was a weakness, one he couldn't afford to display.

His hands were still shaking, so he clasped them together as he leaned forward on the bench, elbows on his thighs. He took a breath to steady himself as much as possible, though his heart was hammering and he wanted to get up and run, he wanted to do SOMETHING other than sit here.

"Somehow, he…" Izaya started, but then changed his mind and swallowed hard before he spoke again, "I don't know how, but he figured out the lie. And somehow he found out about my sisters. He… he has Mairu."

Unable to stop himself, his hands moved to covered his face, pretending that the heat was soothing, but unable to trick himself for more than half a second before pulling his hands away and clasping them together again. "He's holding her at your old house. He wants me and you to meet him there or he'll…"

He didn't need to bother finishing that sentence.

[unicornhunter]

Erika's eyes widened as Izaya spoke. He . . . what? It took her a moment to realize the exact magnitude of what he was saying. Her father, Mamoru Karisawa, the Baby Doll Murderer, had kidnapped Izaya's little sister in order to get back at Izaya for lying to him, for trying to protect Erika. Her father was doing who knew what (except they knew very well what) to Izaya's little sister because she had been too much of a coward to confront him herself. Though she knew what would happen if she encountered him again.... It would be no different from when she was a child, no matter how much she wanted to believe otherwise.... Izaya had put himself on the line for her, and this is what came of it....

Her expression hardened, and she put a hand on Izaya's shoulder. "We'll get her back."

She had to make this right.

"We'll go where he wants, you'll get Mairu, and I'll take care of him. Once you get Mairu, get out of there and leave the rest to me. Okay? It's going to turn out fine."

She hoped.

She did have a plan.

She just doubted whether or not she'd survive it.

She hoped Walker hadn't planned anything big for whatever that surprise was. She didn't like disappointing him.

[UndergroundGod]

It took every ounce of control he possessed to keep from imagining exactly what might be happening to his little sister. He didn't think he could keep it together if he had to think about that. No matter how much distance he liked to put between himself and his sisters, not matter how he pretended to feel about them… It was all an act. Sure, he found them to be annoying sometimes, but from what he understood, most younger siblings were to some extent. The truth was that Izaya had practically raised the girls, he'd fed them, changed them, dressed them, played with them. It was only as he found himself slowly digging deeper into the dark underground world that he felt that putting distance between himself and the baby sisters he loved so much would be essential for keeping them safe.

This was the very thing he'd sought to prevent.

There was a moment of silence between them, before Izaya suddenly felt the weight of Erika's hand on his shoulder, and his head snapped towards her. She reassured him, and though such a thing should have meant nothing, it somehow did help a tiny bit. Izaya couldn't help but want to believe her.

But he was distinctly turned off by her plan. He wanted to save his sister, of course, and he didn't know what the hell would happen once they got there… but the idea of leaving Erika alone with her father made his stomach turn almost as violently as the thought of his sister being with him. If he left Erika to deal with her father, what was to stop him from hurting her all over again? How could Izaya just let that happen?

The frown was a hard line on his face as he spoke in a low voice, "I don't want to leave you alone with him."

[unicornhunter]

"You think I want to be!? But what other choice do we have!?"

She instantly regretted losing her temper as soon as the words came out of her mouth, but she couldn't take them back. Just like she couldn't take back asking Izaya for help, couldn't take back falling into a false sense of security just because Izaya was helping her, couldn't take back not killing him before all this happened....

"We only have twenty-four hours, the police can't help, and we can't get anyone else involved. There's nothing else we can do.... I can't let anyone else get hurt. Especially not you or your family...."

She stood up and looked at him. "I'll go alone if I have to. But I assure you, he's not getting away with this."

[UndergroundGod]

The anger in her voice somehow made Izaya feel worse. Like he'd been trying to smack her in the face with the idea of what would happen if he left them alone together, though that wasn't at all what he wanted. He just… he wanted to save her. He wanted to save her and his sister, because if he could do that, maybe he could somehow save himself from the memories of his brush with disaster so many years ago. If he could save them now, maybe he could find some relief from the pain that had plagued him for a decade and a half.

He hated feeling so goddamn powerless.

When she stood, he immediately stood with her. He felt an urge to take her by the hand or touch her shoulder, to do something to show he was there with her, but… the very concept of using touch to comfort someone in that way was foreign to him. His sister he could hug, but others… He wasn't sure he knew just how he was supposed to comfort Erika like that yet.

"You're not going alone," he said firmly. "This is my mess too. I'm going with you."

[unicornhunter]

Izaya agreeing to go with her made her relax just a little bit. Well, at least that insured that Mairu wouldn't have to see anything she really shouldn't if things went poorly....

Before they went to meet up with her father and Mairu, Erika sent a few texts. Just . . . so Walker, Kadota, and Togusa knew she loved them in case she . . . .

Yumacchi~! I love you more than anything. You're the Kyo to my Tohru! The Syaoron to my Sakura! Hee hee~ You know I could go on forever.... I really, really do love you, Walker. I'm sorry if you've been feeling neglected lately. I didn't meant to make you feel bad.

Dotachin~! I know you don't like the nickname, but it's cute, ne? Remember when we first met? On that rooftop? I'm really happy you caught me. Keep being the awesome hero that you are, okay? A regular Wild Tiger or Goku Son!

Subaru~! I really am sorry about the drool stain on the back seat. But hey, use whatever of my income you need to fix the upholstery, 'kay? There isn't a better guy to be friends with than you! So you deserve it!

She closed her phone, then took a deep breath and looked up at the building that used to be her home.

It had been rebuilt into another apartment complex, but no one had wanted to live in them, so it got really run down and pitiful to look at. But she remembered which door had been the entrance to her and her father's home. Morbid curiosity made her wonder if the combination to the basement was still the same....

"Ready, Izaya?"

[UndergroundGod]

They began walking then, moving in silence along the city streets. Erika pulled out her phone and was typing frantically into it… sending texts, Izaya supposed. He was curious as to the context of the text, but not so nosy as to try to read them. Were they excuses of absences, perhaps? She could be giving reasons as to why she would be gone for a while, or… or were they good byes?

Izaya didn't want to think that. If it was at all possible for him to control, the only person saying their goodbyes here should be Mamoru. Not him, not his sister, and certainly not Erika.

Even if Izaya thought that this was the end, he didn't think he had anyone to send such a text to.

Sooner than he could have thought, they had stopped outside a deserted and dark looking apartment complex, and Izaya took a deep breath. Honestly, they were walking into a hostage trade off, more or less. Izaya was certain that Mamoru wasn't going to give up Mairu until Erika was firmly in his possession… and Izaya knew that Erika was going to give herself up for Mairu's sake, and there was nothing Izaya could do to change that. He could only hope that Mamoru would give Mairu up once he had Erika, he hoped that he could get Mairu to safety, and he hoped that he could get back to Erika in time to stop the psychopath from doing anything irreversible.

Was he ready? Not even close. Izaya never did anything with this little preparation and he truly didn't want to start. He turned to look at her seriously. "Let's have some sort of a plan here." He glanced down at her bag, which looked awfully heavy. "What do we have to work with here, information-wise and tool wise?"

[unicornhunter]

Erika looked over at Izaya, then looked back up at the building. "I've got a lead pipe, a couple handguns, matches, first-aid kit, switchblade, handcuffs, pepperspray, and a bag of salt. As for what we know, he has Mairu and probably won't let her go until I can convince him that he doesn't need her anymore."

That was phrased very purposefully. Erika knew this trick of her father's, though before it was played on much younger victims and usually they were kidnapped together, not one kidnapped and the other lured in. It wasn't a simple trade-off, as much as she wished it would. No, unless she could convince her father otherwise, he'd be trying to keep all three of them in the building. But . . . she had an idea for that. It made her stomach churn, but she had an idea.

"Hopefully Shizuo was able to injure him, even if it was just a little bit. So there might be a weak spot.... But we probably shouldn't count on that. He's potentially weaker than he used to be because he was held up in the mental hospital for so long, but he's also going to be pissed as a hornet.... Basically, the plan is I get him to let Mairu go, you take her and get the hell out of here, and . . . and I don't come out until he's dead."

She bit her lower lip. Part of her wanted to ask Izaya if he'd tell Walker what happened if she never came out.... But she was a little afraid to ask that. It felt as though saying that would seal her fate, and the other part of her wanted to believe that the Baby Doll Murderer's Daughter and Walker's partner in crime and love were two completely separate characters, part of two very different stories, even if they were connected.... She wanted to believe that the Baby Doll Murderer's Daughter died the day she met Kadota on that rooftop.

After this, maybe she could once again convince herself of that.