Chapter 16

Durarara!! Epitome of Eighteen Histories: Kasane Kujiragi Episode

This is a story of love .

A story of twisted love .

A certain place in Ikebukuro, in a private karaoke box room .

“Um……You said you’re Kasane Kujiragi-san, correct? I’ll ask again but…… why do you know my name? It seems you know my brother though……”

They were in a private room of a karaoke box . When Kazane Kinomiya asked that the woman sitting across from her – Kasane Kujiragi – gave an answer back while remaining expressionless .

“Yes, I have looked into your brother Shinra Kishitani at first because it was work-related, but at present it is because of personal interest . ”

“Work-related…… . ?”

“Please think of me as someone like an investigator of an insurance company . ”

“……”

That’s a lie . Kazane understood immediately . Kazane had also meet various people for being a mere writer as a part-time job . This did not mean she could read the mind of a swindler, but she could see through the lies of normal people or sense anything out of place . But for the woman in front of her, it would be better said she was in a class that was abnormally poor at lying compared to normal humans .

“Understood . For the mean time, I’ll leave it at that . ”

Since Kazane considered it meaningless to point out her lie, Kazane tried to further the conversation without pressing into the matter .

“So, when you say personal interest……what do you mean by that?”

“Yes, while I was investigating him for work I came to know of his disposition and simply held an interest towards him as someone of the opposite sex . ”

“……Y-you said that so straightforwardly . ”

Kazane knew right away that she was not lying this time . And yet, Kazane had no idea how she should take her sudden confession .

The woman named Kujiragi continued talking with Kazane indifferently .

“And so, if my feelings are realized it would mean you would be my sister-in-law . As such, knowing your name prior to is not unnatural . ”

“That may be right when you say it like that but……have you ever met my brother before?”

“No, not once . ”

“Aren’t you just a stalker then!”

Kazane thoughtlessly raised her voice . Kujiragi replied to her while fixing her glasses .

“I do not deny it . It cannot be helped for you to perceive me that way in a general worldview . After all, the other may know my name, but he should not know my face in the slightest . ”

“Even if you say that so openly . ”

“I will inquire contrarily, but have you met Shinra-san before?”

“Urrgh!?”

With such a splendid counter having been made, Kazane groaned .

“If what I am doing is the actions of a stalker, then can we say your actions are filled with the traits of a stalker as well?”

“Th-that’s……”

Although Kazane had a connection with him being a sister of a different father, she understood looking from the other side that what she did was completely that of a stalker . She vaguely realized this, but now having someone else directly having said this, right now in this moment, she became fully aware of it .

– Urgh, when I was kidnapped by Emilia-san that time I thought, “did I do something stalkerish?” But under society’s standards I’m completely in the wrong! I’m a stalker……!

Now having become aware of the reason she cannot meet her brother after talking with Izaya in front of the hospital, she had become able to look at herself objectively .

“I-I’m sorry……For being blind to my own shortcomings……”

“No, let’s get along as fellow stalkers . ”

“Fellow stalkers!?”

“I also was rash . Not only has it not been settled for me to be united with Shinra Kishitani-san yet, I was already about to propose if it is alright to call you sister, even though there is an abnormally high barrier awaiting me even if I had met with him . ”

Kazane cocked her head and asked Kujiragi who was shaking her head slightly as said that .

“Um, what do you mean……by a barrier?”

“……The Headless Rider . ”

“!”

“It seems you know of it; that Shinra Kishitani-san and the Headless Rider have a connection . ”

Kujiragi stated with her usual composed demeanor, but Kazane started to feel a pressure in contrast to that calm bearing .

“……Just how much do you know of my brother?”

From what she has researched up until now, Kazane also knew that her brother had some sort of hidden side to him .

Knowing her brother was doing something unlawful, did she plan to solicit it? Kazane was cautious of that, but there was also discord within herself .

– Shinra-san .

– If my brother is really involved deeply in crime, then I…… .

“I know your brother does business with the Awakusu group and works as an underground doctor . ”

“Uwaah!? You’re that straightforward about it!?”

Kazane, who had clearly stated she wanted to look away from the matter, experienced her resolve crumbling with as little as that .

However, Kujiragi merely added .

“Nevertheless, I do not mind . ”

“Ehh!?”

“I will say this to reduce your anxiety a little bit, but it is not like Shinra Kishitani-san uses refined narcotics to harm people . Rather, it can be said he is a messiah offering a hand to those who cannot get involved with normal doctors . ”

“Th-that’s a rather forced way of thinking……”

She thought unconsciously, but recalling the information she heard from Izaya Orihara in the afternoon Kazane quickly followed up with a question .

“Th-then, could it be what caused my brother to get serious injuries was because of his connection with that unlawful job of his……!?”

“No, there is no relation to that . ”

“I-is that so……”

Kazane was relieved a little bit . But realizing it was not the time to relax she shook her head .

“Umm, if it wasn’t that…… . Then why does my brother have those serious injuries?”

“I cannot give the details, but half of it is my fault . ”

“……Eh?”

“I think it is inexcusable on my part in regards to that . I do not think I would receive forgiveness from Shinra Kishitani-san and you . ”

Kazane replied back while confused towards Kujiragi talking about her general circumstances .

“No, um, when it comes to forgiving you or not forgiving you I’m not sure what to do until I know the details, right! So first, can you tell me……”

“I do not care even if you do not forgive me, so I do not feel the necessity to tell you of the details . ”

“Eeeeehhhh”

Kazane had met plenty of eccentric people up until now, but she was sure the person in front of her was a top class even among those people .

However, she could leave her as just some oddball .

– ……I don’t really get it, but since she says she’s never met him then I think this person didn’t directly slash my brother or anything .

– In other words, the information she researched about my brother at “work” is the cause, and the one who hurt my brother is done by someone else then……? Or maybe a lot of things happened and he got into a car accident…… .

– Well, that’s if I can swallow this person’s story though……

However, unlike when she gave her name as an “insurance investigator” just previously, Kazane did not feel a trace of a lie behind her words .

“……I want to ask you one thing, but Kujiragi-san, um……do you feel guilty for my brother getting hurt?”

“I do not regret my own actions . However, guilt……now that you mention that, I wonder if that is the case . Or maybe I do have such feelings . ”

Kujiragi’s response was as though the wiring of her emotions differs from that of normal humans . And yet Kazane, not letting that confuse her, continued on while taking her words in face value .

“Then aren’t you just confusing that feeling of guilt for feelings of love? When you normally think about it, it’s odd to like someone you’ve never met . ”

“You think so?”

“I……think so . ”

“I see a vast number of people who bear similar feelings like well-disposition and love to even twisted killing intent towards their idols they watch on television . So just like them, is it really that odd for me to hold interest in Shinra-san where I know nothing about him other than what I know from photographs and documents?”

Kujiragi objected indifferently and not irritably at Kazane’s words . Kazane raised her voice partially towards Kujiragi .

“I-it’s strange! I mean the feelings of fans……are different…… . ”

“I think there are many celebrities who have married their fans though . ”

“That’s right! But……”

– Huh?

And then Kazane realized the one who was getting more riled up was herself .

– Why am I this……desperate?

Kujiragi stated clearly to the confused Kazane as she slowly drank the melon soda brought to the room .

“You also like him, don’t you? Shinra Kishitani-san . ”

“Wha!?”

“Not as family nor as a brother……Do you not think of him as someone of the opposite sex and not that kind of family love?”

“There’s n-……!”

Stopping just as she was about to state the “no way” part, Kazane had a sudden thought .

By chance, could she be able to deny her words the way she is right now?

No, would it be alright to deny it so easily?

Those kind of thoughts rose up rapidly .

The moment those thoughts joined together in her head, Kazane was pulled into the sea of her sense of self she should have saw objectively and was once again drowning in the midst of it .

– Eh? But, wait, no way?

– Certainly it’s exactly as Orihara-san had said . I think I chased my brother’s shadow for my self-satisfaction .

– But……is that really it?

– Then why am I shook up by meeting a person who likes my brother?

– Because this person caused my brother to get hurt? Because she’s suspicious?

– Umm, let’s try to imagine her as more of an honest person .

– For instance if Ruri Hijiribe had said she liked my brother……?

– Ahh, I can’t! Without it being real it’s difficult to imagine it!

The confusion only called for more confusion, and a colorless wind blew through Kazane’s mind .

And now, never having attempted to make on lover in her life before, that reaction had bore down on her .

“I-I-I just……have been drunk on myself . Thinking it was special I have “a brother living separately,” I just ended up thinking I was different from the other kids around me, and so, perhaps my brother was an existence for a way for me to escape from my current life at that time to me and…… . umm……”

She tried to say the same things Izaya told her previously, but since she was flustered she could not voice it fairly well .

Even though it could be said the general meaning of her remarks were understood, Kasane Kujiragi calmly affirmed .

“It is fine, is it not? Even if you like your brother of divided blood in order to get drunk on yourself . ”

“Th-th-that is! To like someone for that extent is…… . ”

“The instance of liking someone does not matter to that extent, correct? I think the issue is whether the feelings that started from “that extent” can be fostered into universal love or not . ”

Kazane could not read into her emotions from Kujiragi’s expression, but she perceived it as an answer that Kujiragi earnestly thought in her own way .

If so, then she also had to answer sincerely .

She thought it over for a while, but she could not settle on one thought right now .

“……Honestly, I don’t know . I’ve never been aware of it before……I may be envious of you for sure, but whether my feelings for my brother are for someone of the opposite sex or it is sibling love as family, for me who has never actually met him cannot decided that . ”

At that Kujiragi silently cast her gaze downward and said as though it was a confession .

“……That is true . That may be the same for me as well . ”

“Eh?”

“I also cannot completely grasp the emotions I am feeling right now . Could I call this a mere crush, love, or a simple impulse of monopolistic desire or sexual desire……In any case, I have never thought I could have the common affections as a human . ”

“?”

Kazane titled her head at the strange statements . Kujiragi just continued speaking further on the matter .

“I had no hope until now . In the midst of having just given up on everything your brother……Shinra Kishitani-san suddenly shined as a light of hope in front of me . I thought perhaps if it was that person, then we could connect the same way as humans even with an existence such as myself . ”

“……You are talking as though you are not human . ”

“……You are correct . What would you do if I told you that?”

Kujiragi stated that while stirring the melon soda with a straw on the table . Kazane thought it was a joke, but then she abruptly remembered:

Of the incident when she was abducted by Shingen Kishitani’s wife, Emilia .

Of the fact there are clearly abnormal existences out there from Shingen and Emilia’s past stories they talked about at that time .

Furthermore, she also recalled the urban legend was said to be one of those real abnormalities and not some trick, which was the existence that was always with her brother – the Headless Rider .

Kazane felt her heart beat faster . As a writer she had done various interviews regarding that urban legend . Although it had gotten pulled into mankind’s issues many times, it had never actually gotten involved with anything that can be called “strange . ”

However, Kazane thought this .

She thought perhaps she already stepped into the territory of that side from the occasions she looked into her brother participating in conducts with the Headless Rider .

She recalled the face of Mikado Ryuugamine, whom she interviewed yesterday . He was also still captivated by the Headless Rider .

Then what about her? When she is faced with the real “abnormality,” would she run away from there or would she hold her ground?

And she asked, to confirm that as well .

“……Are you?”

“I am the one asking the question . Though it is just a supposition, in the end . ”

Kujiragi easily dodged her question, but Kazane thought over it earnestly . After she imagined the woman in front of her in the case of her being an alien or werewolf in human skin, she answered clearly while sorting out her feelings .

“If you were not human but a monster……I think I would be moved . ”

“You’d be……moved? Ahh, you are a writer after all . In front of a scoop, it may be normal for you to be impressed . ”

Kujiragi said and nodded in understanding, but Kazane shook her head from left to right .

“That’s not it . ”

“What is?”

“If you really are a monster completely different from a human……I wouldn’t be impressed by that in itself but from the fact you held a conversation normally with me and managed to talk about love……I think that is incredibly moving . ”

“……”

As though taken unawares, Kujiragi’s expression fell .

Nonetheless, her expression was one that the words “staring blankly” was more suitable on her completely expressionless complexion rather than her emotions showing on it .

Kazane said to her with a smile .

“I support you! I also envy you! However, I think we are two of a kind . And so with you I may also be able to take a step forward . That’s right……I guess, it is the feeling of being pushed forward . ”

“Those are my lines . ”

Kujiragi smiled a little for the first time proclaimed to Kazane .

“I also have come to want to call you my sister-in-law . ”

Kazane did not know .

That in this moment she pushed Kasane Kujiragi to do an unthinkable act .

She would know of it after just a bit of time passes .

To Kazane Kinomiya the time of their meeting had approached already .

Not with Shinra Kishitani, but the chance meeting with the existence that is unavoidable when talking about him – the Headless Rider .

That time was drawing near at Kazane’s side soon enough .

The moment her life would change, including her past and future .

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