Durarara!! - Volume 9 - Chapter 1.1

In a Dark Place 2

“But still…you must have done some research into us, right?” Earthworm said, her voice bright in the dim room. “About Amphisbaena?”

There was no thought for hiding the identity of the group, suggesting that the burlap sack covering the man’s head wasn’t meant for that purpose.

“Well? Were you or weren’t you snooping on us?”

“…”

“Didn’t you think what you were doing was dangerous?”

“…”

Still there was no sound coming from the sack but breathing and no vocalization.

“Were you thinking we weren’t yakuza, and therefore, we’d be nicer…and wouldn’t bother to abduct you?”

“…”

“Nope, nope, no—no—no, nuh-uh, no way! You’re a disgrace to your profession. Don’t you know young folks snap easily these days? We’ve got calcium deficiency. The fourteen and unders are killin’ it up in the killing fields, knowing they’re protected from the death penalty by juvenile law. But I’m in my twenties, so whatever. On the inside, I’m eternally that little boy smushing ants on the playground, got it? But don’t worry—I’m a girl. A girl with the mentality of a little boy. Isn’t that cute?”

“…”

Even these taunts did not elicit a reaction from the sack.

“I wonder, Izaya Orihara. Can you even hear me?” she wheedled, poking at the sack. “Want me to take this off?”

“…”

The man’s head rose slightly, turning in the direction of her voice.

“Ooh, he reacted! Hey, can you bob your head for me?”

The man with the burlap sack on his head shook it up and down with a vigor he hadn’t shown thus far.

“Ha-ha! You’re finally looking lively again. Too bad I’m not gonna take the sack off,” Earthworm gloated, her narrowed eyes appearing to drown in pleasure. She grabbed his nose through the rough fabric. “It’s scarier than you thought to have a bag over your head the entire time, isn’t it?”

“…”

“It’s dark, all the smells and sounds are muffled, you can’t eat anything, and your breath makes everything stuffy and damp. I wonder if it would smell if you ate garlic beforehand. But I doubt you’d have that problem, since you seem like you’d be obsessed with preventing bad breath. I’ve seen pictures of you, and you’re always looking cool and suave.”

She wasn’t giving away the full breadth of her information about him, just delivering enough to make him uneasy.

“But that burlap sack is scary, right? I tried it myself, and I couldn’t take more than five seconds. I was terrified it would ruin my makeup.”

She flicked the forehead of her captive through the cloth.

“I’m sorry that we’re just so devastatingly fascinating and cute that you couldn’t help but try to research us,” she said theatrically. “But you see, our owner really hates being spied on like this. Personally, I’d love to show you more and more of what you want to see, but I can’t disobey the owner. It’s the tragedy of the employee, you know?”

“…”

“Quiet again? Wait, you haven’t said anything to begin with. I’d kind of like to hear something, even if it’s just a scream.”

Earthworm reached over to a nearby table and picked up a pair of scissors, then closed the blades loudly next to the sack, snip, snip.

Their captive leaned away to avoid the shears, but Earthworm continued her torment, moving the blades closer.

“But it’s a good thing not to speak, huh? I just accidentally mentioned the owner, so you’ve probably figured out there’s someone higher than me in this organization.”

“…”

“I guess that makes you a successful info broker, huh? Not talking is the best choice.” Earthworm chuckled.

She sat back down, and her voice cold and hard this time, she warned, “But it’s not going to work. Nope, nuh-uh. You might be able to hold your silence, but we already know everything there is to know about you.”

Cruelty shone in her eyes, and her lips turned up in sadistic pleasure. “Your dear daddy and mummy are doing financial business overseas, aren’t they?”

“…”

“Obviously, we can’t just fly over there to see them…but you do have two darling little sisters close by. Kururi and Mairu, I believe?”

The man lifted his head.

A pitiable prisoner, shaking in denial.

Earthworm leaned forward, unable to help herself from squirming with affection for her miserable prey. Her words were cold.

“My friend is going to pick them up now. I’m sure you must be very happy to see them soon, Big Brother Izaya.”

Again, time retreated several days to earlier in this tale…