Ikebukuro was certainly not what you expected it to be. Growing up in various different small-time towns all your life, your only experience with cities were the ones you visited briefly with your father when he had to leave for meetings or the cities depicted in shows or movies. All of those cities were full of life - full of people with almost a carefree attitude. Ikebukuro was different from those other cities; you sensed the difference almost immediately after you stepped off the train. It felt as if something sinister was lurking beneath the facade.
Although it wasn’t your idea, you thought that your father sending you away to Ikebukuro was the best thing that could’ve happened. You’ve been yearning for the chance to explore the world on your own ever since you turned 18 just a few weeks back, but your protective father never let you for good reason. Being the CEO of an industry that sometimes partnered with people that were far from trustworthy was tricky business, especially when those said people would stop at nothing to get what they want. Your father had no other choice but to send you away.
This was the chance you had always been looking for. A strange new city with strange new people… it was perfect. Of course, there was still the matter of the bodyguard your father had hired to watch you. Knowing your father, he’d try to make sure that you were kept safely indoors which would surely hinder your adventure around the city.
To your knowledge, your father went through a great deal of trouble trying to find and get in contact with the man. He was supposedly supposed to be the strongest man in all of Ikebukuro - no, in all of Japan. Despite that, you had never heard of him before. You only hoped this bodyguard would be like the past ones your father had hired for you; lazy and extremely gullible.
As soon as you stepped off the train and started looking around, one particular man stuck out to you more so than the others. It was almost as if everyone else was in black and white and he was the only person in full color… Or it was the fact that people went out of their way to avoid him as if he was one dangerous character. Without any hesitation, you immediately started making your way towards him.
You had a feeling that this man was supposed to be your new bodyguard, but doubt quickly started drowning that thought away when you noticed the bartender outfit he was wearing. Although he was built like one, he still didn’t look like any bodyguard you had ever seen in your life. Even so, your curiosity was still nagging at you to find out more.
Almost immediately, your nose wrinkled in distaste at the smell of the smoke coming from the cigarette he was smoking. If there was anything you hated most, that was definitely it. Pushing past your reflex to gag and move away, you dared to approach him until you were standing just feet away from him.
“You’re not a bartender, are you?” you asked him.
His wandering eyes slowly landed on you before giving you a distasteful look. Taking his cigarette out of his mouth, he dropped it onto the floor and quickly extinguished it with a stomp of his shoe.
“Let’s go,” he told you as he started walking away.
“Wait!” you quickly called as you struggled to keep up with him. “You’re not even going to ask who I am?”
“I’m getting paid to watch you, not to learn your whole life story,” he replied curtly.
You couldn’t help but cross your arms, angered and quite hurt by his attitude. He definitely wasn’t like any other bodyguard you’ve had before.
“Well, I’m (Y/N),” you told him anyway, hoping to strike up a conversation. “What’s your name?”
He stayed silent as he continued to walk at a steady pace. Your patience was quickly running short and it took everything you had not to get angry.
“Oh, come on. If I’m going to be with you for the next few weeks, I might as well know your name. Unless you want me to refer to you as just ‘my bodyguard’ the whole time.”
“Shizuo,” he finally replied, his tone of voice almost sounding like a growl. His patience seemed to be just as thin as yours… that was interesting to know.
The two of you remained silent as he continued to lead you out of the subway. The initial shock of finally being there was enough to contain your excitement, but the second you stepped foot outside to where the city truly laid was when you finally lost control over that excitement. Running ahead of your new bodyguard, you only stopped when you reached the curb of the sidewalk. You stared longingly at the cars zooming by and at the bustling people that made their way around the city easily as if they knew this giant place off the back of their hand.
A strong hand suddenly landed on your shoulder making you jump. With a quick glance, you noticed that it was only Shizuo.
“Come on,” he said in his gruff voice as he started walking away.
“Are you going to take me exploring?” you asked excitedly, prepared to stay out there all night if that’s what it took to visit all over.
“Sure,” he said, getting your hopes up just before he crushed them. “You can do plenty of exploring in my apartment when we get there.”
You suddenly stopped in your tracks as you scowled at him. It only took him a few seconds to realize that you were no longer following him and he turned around to face you.
“I’m not joking,” you told him.
“I’m not either. Now hurry it up.”
He tried to reach out to grab your arm, but you quickly took a step backward before he could grab you. It was obvious by his expression that he was losing his temper, but you didn’t care. You had been waiting to explore the city and you sure as hell wouldn’t let him stop you.
“I want to explore Ikebukuro.”
“And your father told me to keep you inside as much as I can, so no.”
“I’ll find a way to get away from you when you’re not looking, I always do,” you warned him with a mischievous smirk. “And when I do, I wonder what my father will be more angry about; me exploring Ikebukuro under your supervision, or you allowing me to escape and wandering around a city like this all on my own. It’s really up to you.”
He seemed ready to burst with anger before he quickly turned around and tried to calm himself down. A feeling of pride overwashed you, knowing that you had won this. You quickly skipped over to his side, a proud look present on your face which only seemed to anger him more.
“You’re already making me regret taking this job,” he grumbled as he lit a cigarette and took a big hit from it.
“Then you should just quit now and leave me be,” you told him, almost hoping that he would actually do as you said.
After giving you a brief side glance, a strange look appeared on his face. It looked as if he had thought what you said was humorous.
“Keep dreaming, sweetheart.”
With that said, he began walking away which turned your proud look into one of annoyance. Of course he wouldn’t just quit. You already made it too obvious that you disliked his presence just as much as he disliked yours. Whether you liked it or not, you had a feeling you’d be stuck with him until it was safe for you to go home. But you couldn’t let that bother you now, though. Especially not when you were finally able to explore Ikebukuro.
The strange places and people fascinated you to no extent. Everything there was so different from what you were used to; it was almost enchanting.
“I wish I could meet some other people here,” you said mostly to yourself, but Shizuo overheard.
“I’ll introduce you to people later that you can talk to,” he replied. He seemed almost bored as he lazily took another puff from his cigarette.
“Oh, so now you’re trying to control my social life, huh?”
“Ikebukuro isn’t a utopia. There are dangerous places and people all around that you need to avoid.”
So your original thought on danger lurking in this city was correct. Even so, you never thought it was anything major. Either Shizuo was only trying to scare you, or there really was something sinister lurking around here. As hot-headed as he was, he didn’t seem like the type to purposely make up scary stories just to get back at you. You had a feeling that if he really wanted to scare you, he’d do it himself.
“What kind of danger?” you asked curiously.
“What? So you can go running off to it the moment you get the chance?”
For the second time that day, he made you scowl. For someone you had only just met, he was definitely great at angering you.
“I’m not some foolish little kid,” you snapped at him. “I think I have a right to know what dangers I should avoid here. You know, in case we ever got separated or something.”
He still seemed hesitant to tell you, but he also didn’t seem to be in the mood to argue again after how the last argument went.
“Avoid any color gang you see,” he finally said with a sigh, as if he was already regretting what he was saying.
“Color gang?”
“Each gang here has a different color to represent themselves. If you see a group of people wearing the same color, avoid them at all costs,” he said simply as if avoiding a whole gang was the easiest thing in the world.
“Will do,” you mumbled.
“There’s one other person you better avoid,” he said as he suddenly stopped walking. A look of pure anger over washed his face. “He’s a dangerous, manipulative bastard who will only get you into trouble. His name is-”
“What’s that sound?” you asked suddenly, cutting him off mid-sentence.
It sounded almost like a horse neighing, but there couldn’t be any horses in a city like this, right? But there the sound was again coming from down the block you were on. Without hesitating, you started running towards the sound, ignoring Shizuo’s yells to come back. Your curiosity was dying to know the cause of the sound.
As you reached the end of the block, you had to push your way past the crowd of people that gathered there to get a look at the thing. Once you made it to the front of the crowd, a black figure riding a motorcycle raced past you. Before your mind could process what you had just seen, the neighing was heard one last time, but this time you knew it was coming from the motorcycle itself, almost as if it was alive…
The crowd soon dispersed and you saw Shizuo take a step next to you from the corner of your eye. His arms were crossed and he had what seemed to be a pleased look on his face.
“What was that…?” you asked, still completely stunned.
“You were just lucky enough to get a close-up look at The Black Rider,” he told you.
“Is that another threat I should stay away from?”
He merely chuckled.
“Celty? No, she’s one of the few good guys around here. If you’re ever in trouble and I can’t help, she’ll be there to rescue you.”
“Wow, you know her?” you asked, looking up at him with astonishment.
“You could say we’re friends,” he said before a small smirk appeared on his face. “Now come on, it’s getting late. We’ll continue this in the morning.”
To his surprise, you didn’t argue. You still had weeks to explore this wonderful city. Too bad that the true sinister thing that lurked in the city was still unknown to you.
