A m a r a n t h i n e

Mikado felt his face flush slightly at the other’s comment of calling him ‘pretty’. It was the last thing he’d expected to hear, but it was definitely flattering. At least he knew that all of his hard work had paid off; he’d truly fallen into a completely new identity just because of a party, some makeup, and a new outfit.

“The Prince of Ravens, huh? That is a little silly… But I’ll go with it. You’ve got the look of one, at least.” The feathered mask and the other’s black hair matched the part, so he supposed that it was only fair to take that name when Mikado himself had just given out a false one.

“I don’t think it’s boring to watch everyone else; it’s a little interesting to see how different people react to different things, but my main goal was to observe how people tend to act at a party like this.” It was essentially like getting a word of advice from a friend; by watching everyone, Mikado knew what was acceptable and what wasn’t.

     Izaya’s eyes lit up slightly; hearing ‘her’ say that it’s watching isn’t completely boring, and then ‘her’ also asking if he’d be willing to join back in with the rest of the guests? It was a better result than he expected.

    「I’d be honored to accompany you.」He crossed an arm over his chest and bowed, looking back up at her with a grin.「That is, if you don’t mind? I’ve been told I can be quite... bold.」Though, of course he of all people would seem bold in this sort of crowd. Izaya wasn’t the kind to censor himself for the sake of others. (As well as having no line to cross; really, practically nothing was off limits for the informant. In fact, there were numerous times he purposefully crossed other people’s lines.)

( feel free specify a context for each symbol )

He wasn’t sure that he trusted him.

The man’s gaze was calculating, and the way his eyes snapped onto Mikado made him feel vulnerable and defenseless, even though his face was hidden behind a mask. The getup he was wearing combined with the makeup and the wig would surely disguise him well enough, but somehow he felt that this man could see through false pretenses.

Those eyes were so red. Where had he seen eyes like those before?

Before he could answer the question, the mystery man had sidled up next to him, leaning up against the wall nonchalantly. 

Mikado cleared his voice before he spoke, careful to keep it at a pitch that was comfortable to uphold, yet wasn’t too masculine. “Y-Yeah, I’ve never been to a masquerade before.” He gulped, swallowing his nervous energy and stood up a bit straighter, trying to exude more confidence and quell the shaking in his voice. “But I thought it’d be interesting to try to come to one. I didn’t bring any of my friends though…. So I’m just.. observing from afar. Learning the terrain.”

He gave the other a smile, still hiding the anxiety in his expression. “Is there.. a name I could call you? You haven’t exactly introduced yourself.. And if I’m planning to continue our conversation, a name of sorts would be nice. You can call me Mika–… Miku.”

That was close; he’d almost given away his real identity to the first person he’d talked to… Hopefully he’d only think that his real name was ‘Mika’ itself and not add a ‘do’ onto the end. 

Not a lot of people knew Mikado anyway, so what were the chances that this guy did?

For now though, Mikado thought it would be best to stick with the mystery man. From what he could tell, this man was comfortable in these surroundings, and perhaps he could show him a good time. Or better than that, something that would make him want to come back. A new experience, something crazy.. Even if it was just dancing his heart out, that might be enough. He wanted to bring out a side of himself that the world had never seen before, not the Dollars, the Blue Squares, or his friends. A exotic, rare side of him that only this man standing next to him right now would be able to see.

     His smile grew ever-so slightly, and Izaya made a mental note to come back to the comment about observing; there was no way he could pass up such an opening.「It’s nice to meet you, Miku,」Izaya winked, his smile turning slightly playful. Already, he had a goal; find out ‘her’ real name. While, yes, there was a chance that it was simply Mika, Izaya couldn’t ignore how ‘her’ voice had cut off; it was almost as if ‘she’ was going to say more.

    「I apologize for my lack of manners; it was rather rude of me to start up a conversation with such a pretty lady, and not even introduce myself. Most of the frequent visitors call me the 『Prince of Ravens;』it’s a bit tacky, but seeings as though a host had given me the name, who am I to reject it?」Izaya rubbed the back of his neck in a sheepish manner, letting his eyes drift to the side as he let out an awkward chuckle.

     He cleared his throat, turning his gaze back to ‘Miku’.「Pardon me if it’s rude of me to ask, but I noticed that you said you were just observing; surely, that can’t be much fun? I mean, doesn’t it get lonely, or even boring, just watching everyone else?」It was ironic, coming from Izaya of all people, which might have been part of the reason he said it at all.

     However, that was exactly what made it such a perfect opening. If ‘she’ were to agree, then Izaya could segue into asking ‘her’ if she’d like to stick with him. Even if she were to disagree, Izaya would easily be able to continue on a conversation; after all, observing was his specialty, so it’d make an effortless topic to discuss.

    「Coming right up~」He shot her one last grin before making his way to the line, taking the time to come up with some outline of a plan.

     He had expected her behavior to an extent; he was an attractive, and had offered to help her out of the quote un-quote, kindness of his heart. However, he hadn’t quite expected her to completely forget about his earlier offer. Really, it was a stroke of good luck for the informant; here was an opportunity to possibly play someone however he pleased, all with minimal effort!

     Christmas must have come early this year!

“I just got fired.”

“We have two options here - run, or give up. Which will it be?”

“I see no problem in using every food we have as a pizza topping.”

“Green isn’t really your color …”

“Truth be told, I’d rather get stomped on by a herd of cows than meet your parents.”

“I don’t care how it’s been before, but there are people depending on you now, so you need to get your shit together!”

“Hey, our outfits match!”

“Wanna hear a joke?”

“I always knew I couldn’t trust you.”

“Can you come to my place at 9 p.m. dressed as a mailman? I’ll explain later. Oh - and bring a shovel!”

“Let me braid your hair.”

“I warned you, didn’t I? Said you should be careful. Why didn’t you listen?”

“I gotta say, I’m really jealous of your eyes. Like they’re so pretty it looks like you have make up on even when you don’t.”

“Any reason you have 12 sixpacks of Red Bull in your fridge?”

“I’ve never seen you dressed like that before. You look … really pretty.”

“We need to get out of here quickly! There are people after us!”

“Ever since I met you, I’ve been having very shitty luck.”

“How can you come here after everything you did to me?”

“You ruined me.”

“My offer still stands.”

“I can stop if I want, I just don’t want to.”

“So … what’s someone like you doing in a place like this?”

“I can fit like 16 strawberries in my mouth!”

“Why do you always do exactly the opposite of what you should?!”

“Can you please stop interrupting me with your puns? I have something important to tell you.”