Warnings: Maybe some violence, a little slash though nothing overt (Kida/Mikado slash only, there will be no Shizuo/Izaya, just FYI), some profanity. Nothing serious on this one, really.

Disclaimer: We do not own DRRR! and wish we were that clever. DRRR! belongs to all the respective people who actually own it, not that I know who any of those people are. But it's a safe bet that they aren't us.

Extra disclaimer: Fic is based on anime canon only. We have neither read the novels nor the manga, though we would like to at some point, if we can find sizable chunks of either one translated into English. For the time being, however, anime canon only, which means if we try to explain something that was explained in the books and guess wrong, it isn't our fault. =D

In a word...: How many DRRR! fics do you think start with the premise 'let's beat Izaya up!' Don't get me wrong, I heart Izaya, totally, but I spent much of the last four-five episodes shouting, "Damn you, Izaya! Die in a fire!" for the way he was messing with people. Anyway, this fic is actually based on the premise "why do you think Izaya refers to 'humans' as if he's not one of them?"

An actual summary: A new gang comes to town looking for something special, and is willing to turn all of Ikebukuro upside down until they find it.

Additional notes: This is our first attempt at this fandom, obvs, so if we're a little shaky on some of the characterization or just plain make some shit up, please to forgive us. Also, a word on names: Kida Masaomi is often referred to as Kida in fandom, and to be honest we usually refer to him as Kida when talking about him, but it seemed weird to call him Kida in the prose when, by the end of the series, nearly *everyone* refers to him by his first name, and everyone *else* is referred to by first name even in fandom. So we're using Masaomi. If it seems weird, sorry. We're still getting used to it ourselves.

Okay! That's enough babbling from me! On with the show!

Prologue

Not long after the fuss had died down, Mikado found himself sitting alone in Masaomi's hospital room, staring at his friend's face, peaceful now in sleep. He didn't know where Anri had gone, and though he wanted to be worried, he just didn't have the emotional energy. Anri could take care of herself, and he would ask her later where she had gone. Hopefully, he would get an answer. He was tired of secrets.

He didn't mind being alone. He had always been good at it. Yumasaki and Karisawa were gone, off doing whatever they did when they were by themselves (which Mikado didn't particularly want to know about). He glanced up as the door slid open and Kadota came in, looking as serious as he ever did.

"How is he?" Kadota asked.

Mikado's hands clenched into fists, resting on his knees. "The doctor said he would be all right," he said, and stole another glance at his friend. It seemed that somehow, Masaomi was both tougher and more fragile than he ever could have imagined. "Um . . . thank you for all your help," he added, bowing his head to the older man.

Kadota sat down in the chair next to him, keeping his voice pitched low to avoid disturbing Masaomi, though they were both fairly sure that nothing short of a stampede of elephants would wake the teenager. "No problem," he said.

Mikado fidgeted. "I was thinking . . . everything I did seems like the wrong thing. Maybe this . . . isn't right for me. You did a much better job with the Dollars than I ever could have. Maybe you should be the one in charge."

Kadota leaned back in his chair with his hands tucked behind his head and glanced over at the teenager. "Nah, that won't work," he said. "Part of the reason I joined – the reason a lot of people joined – was because no one is in charge. There are no rules and regulations. I don't like giving orders any more than I like taking them. Don't get me wrong; you're our founder and that means you have our respect. But don't think that we won't ignore you if you give an order we don't like."

A slight smile touched Mikado's face. "Like to disappear?"

"Yeah." Kadota laughed. "Although we did, in a way. We became someone else for a little while."

Mikado nodded. "Thank you," he said again. After a brief moment of silence, he said, "What do you think will happen now?"

"Things will quiet down. Horada will go to jail along with the worst of his cronies. The Dollars will go back to being colorless." He glanced over at Mikado again. "But your identity as the founder is a secret that can't be taken back. Horada put a price on your head. Enough people know now that you'll never be able to go back to being anonymous."

"I think . . . I think that's okay," Mikado said.

Another nod from Kadota. "Things will quiet down," he repeated. "Then something else will happen. Everything will build back up, something will explode, and then it'll go back to normal. That's Ikebukuro."

Mikado thought back to when he had arrived in Ikebukuro, back to how lost and anxious he had been, to Masaomi telling him to overcome the obstacles and become 'a fine Ikebukuroer', whatever that was. He smiled again, watching Masaomi sleep. "I'll be waiting," he said.

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