A/N: Thank you so much for the positive feedback! :D It really made my day reading your reviews. X3 I started writing this immediately after I posted the prologue, since you guys gave me a much-needed inspiration boost. As promised, this chapter is longer (though not as long as I wanted it to be) than the previous one, and some stuff are explained. This is set right before the prologue (which started in media res). Enjoy :D

Chapter 01: Decisions

- x -

"Hey, oniichan," A six-year-old Mikado turned to the dark-haired boy sitting beside him. They were out in the open grass field, sitting side by side. A red bicycle lay not far from them, but there was the absence of the school bags they usually carried with them. It was a Sunday, after all. Besides, this was different than what was the 'usual'… They had sneaked out of the house, just so they can watch the stars tonight, on what possibly be the last time they may see each other. "Oniichan," the little boy repeated as he tried to get the attention of his older brother. A soft hum was all he received in response, but knowing his brother, he took this as an affirmation that he was listening. "Do you think people build skyscrapers just so they could touch the stars…?"

At this question, the older of the two regarded Mikado with a pair of carmine eyes, only to find the little boy staring up at him with an expectant look on his face. It was an expression that Izaya knew well, which usually meant that his younger brother would not let him be until he had answered his question. With a sigh, the teenager broke eye contact, and instead, focused his gaze on the looming night sky. He seemed to be in deep thought for a few moments as he chose his next words carefully. "Maybe. Maybe not." He shrugged. The little boy seemed dissatisfied with the answer, and was about to protest, but stopped as he noticed that the older male has yet to finish speaking. "But who knows? Maybe it's because man had always been fascinated with the sky, but no one really knows for certain…" He looked once more at Mikado and gave him a small smile.

The little boy noticed that something seemed different about Izaya's smile. It looked a bit forced in his opinion; it's as if he never really intended to smile at all. He was about to comment on it, but a yawn escaped his lips, willing his words away. Seeing this, the teenager gave a chuckle, which was returned with a pout from the other. "Come on; we have to get back home. It's getting pretty late, and I'm sure it's way past your bedtime." The older boy stretched his arms out to his younger brother; fully intending to carry him back home. There was an almost pleading look in Mikado's eyes, as if telling him that no, he did not want to go back yet, but still allowed himself to be carried by Izaya. The latter couldn't say he blamed the younger one, though. After all, he himself felt no inclination to go back just yet.

Especially not since they both knew that tomorrow, things will never be the same again.

- x -

Slate blue eyes opened slowly as the alarm clock rang. With a small sigh, Mikado flung his arm to his bedside table, searching for the offending object. As he felt his hand made contact with the clock, a small grin of triumph became apparent on his face. This was quite short-lived, though, as when he tried to turn the alarm off, his arm slipped; bringing it down to his bed, or more specifically, making it land right beside his ear. This of course caused the teen to sit up immediately, what with the shrilly sound that seemed to be adamant on drilling a hole on his eardrum. And the scary part was that judging by the volume of it, Mikado was sure that it might as well have succeeded in doing just that.

With a huff, the raven-haired boy turned off the alarm. He then regarded the clock in his hands for a few moments, considering whether or not he should just chuck it into the bin once and for all. Not that he had a personal grudge against it or something, though. It's just that it was so annoying. Every time he woke up to the sound of this particular alarm, he never fails to wake up in a bad mood. It sounded way too much like a fire alarm, and he was sure as hell that it did not sound pleasant at all. Just as he was seriously thinking about getting rid of it, he reconsidered and placed it back to its rightful place—on his bedside table, and not inside the trash can. After all, it's not like he'll be taking it to where he was going. He'll be just leaving it here, in his room…along with the rest of his childhood home.

As Mikado stood up, he stretched his arms right above his head—an attempt at getting rid of his remaining sleepiness as well as to smooth out some of the soreness on his body from sleeping on his side. There were a few popping noises as he stretched, and he gave a satisfied smile. He then proceeded back to his bed and carefully rearranged the mussed sheets. He folded the sheets slowly, almost reverently. Even though he was leaving for the city soon, the boy felt the need to do this little morning ritual. But perhaps that exactly was the reason why he felt compelled to do it—because he was leaving. But that's not to say that he won't be doing the same where he was moving. It's just he knew it won't be the same.

With that done, he checked his baggage, which was nothing more than a small backpack containing some of his clothes. Most of his belongings had already been delivered the day prior, and all that's left was for him to move in. Nonetheless, the boy still double-checked the contents of the bag; making sure that he did not miss out anything important. Satisfied that everything was in place, he replaced his things into the bag, grabbed a towel and headed off for the bathroom to start his day.

Mikado stripped immediately; eager to get things done and over with. Stepping into the shower, the young man quickly turned the knob, making warm water cascade down on his prone form. He closed his eyes for a few moments, allowing himself to savor the sensation of water hitting his body. However, as he did so, he found himself thinking about the dream he had last night. It was a recurring dream of his; it was the last time he saw his older brother. Despite it being ten years already, the memory remained fresh within his mind. He could still remember every single detail, every single word said. Well maybe except for one thing—he couldn't quite remember his brother's face that clearly anymore.

It's not really a surprise that he could not remember his own brother's face. After all, he was only a small child when he last saw him. Childhood memories tend to get blurry over time, and in some cases, totally forgotten. Mikado had thought the same before; that it was a natural thing for him to forget. But the more he thought about it, the more it did not make any sense as he can perfectly remember snatches of his earlier years. He didn't pay much heed to it, and decided to ignore it. That is, until he noticed something strange: all pictures of Izaya are gone. Not a single one of them remained. But the stranger thing is that, despite the fact that his brother's pictures are missing, his father's pictures were still there. Which could only mean one thing… his mother got rid of them, and Mikado does not have a single clue as to why.

- x -

Going downstairs, the first thing that Mikado noticed was the distinct sounds of cooking coming from the kitchen. This made him raise one of his eyebrows as his mother would usually be already off to work by this hour. Perhaps she had wanted to see off her son personally? The thought itself seemed unbelievable to him. After all, wasn't she against his moving to Tokyo? There's a possibility that she may have changed her mind instead, but the raven-haired boy found that notion hard to believe.

"Good morning." He greeted as soon as he reached the kitchen. At the sound of his voice, Hiromi turned her head to the direction of her son and returned his greeting—albeit with less fervor. Absent-mindedly, she ushered the teen to sit at the dining table as she prepared his breakfast. Mikado followed her words and sat down on his usual place; placing his bag beside his chair in the process. Whilst his mother cooked, the young man could not help but stare at her as she worked. Her behavior seemed normal enough, and nothing seemed to be out of place. Maybe this'll go smoother than he had anticipated it would.

In no time, Hiromi had set the table for her and her son and placed their breakfast on individual plates. They started eating; Mikado seemingly chewing on his food thoughtfully, while his mother appeared to pick on her plate. Silence pervaded throughout the entire meal, and not a single word was said until the teen excused himself. The raven-haired boy had been observing his mother discreetly as they ate, and he noticed that instead of eating, the woman seemed to be watching his every move. In all honesty he found it quite disturbing. So he excused himself even if he wasn't finished with his meal. But as he stood up, he felt a sudden grip on his arm. He turned around, only to see that his mother was clutching at him.

"Won't you…stay?" There was a look of desperation on the woman's face as she held onto her son. Her eyes were wide; an almost crazy expression reflected upon them. When there was no answer forthcoming from the teen, she tightened her grip on his arm and repeated her words, but this time, it came out sounding like a command rather than a question. She knows that they've had this argument before; several times, in fact. Every single time her son had told her no, but she refused to give up that easily. Even now, she's still hoping that the boy would change his mind. However, the only response she got was for the raven-haired boy to violently wrench his arm from her hold.

Mikado picked up his backpack from the floor; hoisting it on his shoulders. Without turning around, he told his mother, "I'm leaving." The finality of those words nearly made the teen flinch, but decided not to show it. It hurt him to say those words to his mother, but he had to. And just like that, he walked out of the house, never turning back once. Not even when he heard her voice calling out to him; pleading—begging—for him to stay. Because if he did, he knew that he'd only end up having a reason not to leave.

Back inside the house, Hiromi was still sitting down at the dining table. There was a despondent expression on her face and she looked as if she were about to cry, but she held it in. All these years, she had only thought of one thing; that is, her younger son Mikado. And yet, all her effort to keep him safe was for naught. To think that there would come a time that her precious son would seek out the person who was the reason as to why this family broke apart…it was unimaginable, but it was reality now. All she could do was to bury her face in her hands and cry.

- x -

The Oriharas had always been a happy family. At least it was in his memories. When he was very young, he could still remember his mother, father, brother and himself getting along. Both his parents have successful jobs, whilst their two sons—him and Izaya—excelled greatly. There wasn't even a single instance that they fought, nor was there any reason to. Well, there have been some petty quarrels here and there, but they never truly escalated that far. In a sense, one could say they were the ideal type of family—if not perfect. In fact, many of their neighbors and friends often commented on how envious they are of them. Everything was just perfect as they say. But he never expected that it would all come crashing down.

At first, it was just heated conversations that would die down soon enough, but as time passed, it became steadily worse. Every night, the sound of screaming and doors slamming could be heard, while in the morning, there was nothing but eerie silence. He and his older brother really did try to get on with everyday life as if everything was normal. They continued to remain positive; thinking that the matter with their parents would be resolved soon. But it never happened.

One night, their parents had decided that enough was enough. It was his father who had brought up the option of getting a divorce to which his mother had agreed to. There was no more screaming or fighting after that. In a sense, his wish had come true…but not in a manner he wanted it to be. The custody of the children was decided soon after. The older son, Izaya, was taken by Orihara Ryuya. While on the other hand, Mikado was placed under Ryuugamine Hiromi's care. Nothing was heard from either side since then.

- x -

Mikado woke up with a start. He blinked his eyes for a few times, not quite recalling where he is. 'Oh right, I'm in the train right now.' He thought to himself as his sleep-fogged mind started to reawaken. Taking a look around the compartment, he noticed that the amount of passengers had lessened considerably. There are still a lot of people, but it was no longer as crowded as it was prior to him falling asleep. With a sigh, the teen took out his phone to look at the time. It read 6:45pm. Earlier than he thought it'd be. Without anything else to do, the raven-haired boy opted to look outside the window as a means to entertain himself.

As he watched the scenery outside change, he let his mind drift off to thoughts of his brother. Though his arrival was not exactly unexpected by the older man, he could not help but wonder how the other would react upon seeing him. After all, it's been a while and even if they had found a way to communicate with one another a few years back, there's no saying that he'd be welcomed with open arms. Internet is very much different from real life, and who's to know what would happen?

' We'll be arriving at our last stop, Shinjuku Station, in three minutes ' -

The speaker crackled to life, and soon enough, he felt the train starting to slow down. Mikado straightened himself up and re-adjusted the bag on his shoulders. Finally, the train came to a halt, and the teen found himself in a sea of people; all of which seemed to be determined on getting out of the exit first. This made for very slow progress. Luckily, the teen was able to squeeze through. Apparently it was times like these that being skinny was useful for. As soon as he was outside, he took in a much needed breath. There were just so many people! All his life, the teen had never seen such a sight, except in the pages of a manga. It was both exciting and scary at the same time.

Remembering that there was somewhere he should be going, the boy started asking directions to the apartment complex provided in the address that was given to him. Surprisingly, asking around proved to be quite easy, and the people he talked to pointed him to the right direction immediately. And curiously enough, there was this one stranger who bolted away right after he was given directions. Mikado thought that he's probably in a hurry, so he just put it off as nothing.

Despite the fact that he was now confident on where he was heading, he decided not to tarry too long in one place. The teen had heard certain stories from an online friend about the streets of Tokyo which frightened him greatly. He isn't really sure whether or not these stories were true, though he was certain that it's best for him not to try and find out. As he remembered a particular story, the boy shivered involuntarily and started walling in a faster pace. He decided that the sooner he reaches his destination, the better.

After a few more minutes of walking, the raven-haired boy spotted the building he had been looking for. A relieved smiled broke on his face at this. Almost in a hurried manner, the teen proceeded inside and headed straight for the elevator. As he reached the seventh floor, Mikado could feel himself become agitated. 'This is it,' he thought. He'd finally see his brother again in all these years. Finding the correct door, he went up to it and, with shaking fingers, pressed the intercom.

A/N: Quick update is quick O_O I really did not intend to update this quickly, but I decided to do a post as soon as I can since I'll be getting busy again soon. Most particularly since I've joined the Secret Santa event of the Durarara-FC at DA, and I'll be doing a short Masaomi/Mikado oneshot as a gift for a friend xD So yeah, about the story, the pairing will be incest!Izaya/Mikado. Because I say so xDDD Oh, about the divorce issue, Mikado doesn't really know what led to it since his mom's pretty tight-lipped about it. I'll go into detail with it in the later chapters :D

Anon replies:
Epouvantable: oh dear, here's an update for you, but I think I just ended up giving you another cliffie xD;;
goldchild: here's the next chapter dear ~ Though unfortunately that wasn't the case ^^;; The pairing's still Iza/Mika though..