Durarara!!, Vol. 2 (novel) Read Free Page A

terror for humanity, imagined a cheesy Adamski-model UFO emitting some mysterious beam technology that split the earth in two and shivered.

    Chat room
    —THE CHAT ROOM IS CURRENTLY EMPTY—
    —THE CHAT ROOM IS CURRENTLY EMPTY—
    —THE CHAT ROOM IS CURRENTLY EMPTY—
    —SAIKA HAS ENTERED THE CHAT—
    |human|
    |strong|
    |want|
    |love|
    |wantlovehuman|
    |wanthumanlovestrong|
    |want love strong so human|
    |love want strong human yes|
    |yes so want|
    |,|
    |so, so, so, so|
    |I|
    |I, so, want|
    |I, so, want, , ,|
    |strong, yes, is, human|
    |strong, human, want, I, love|
    —SAIKA HAS LEFT THE CHAT—
    —THE CHAT ROOM IS CURRENTLY EMPTY—
    —THE CHAT ROOM IS CURRENTLY EMPTY—
    —THE CHAT ROOM IS CURRENTLY EMPTY—
    —THE CHAT ROOM IS CURRENTLY EMPTY—
    —SETTON HAS ENTERED THE CHAT—
    […]
    [What is this?]
    [A troll?]
    […That’s scary.]
    [It sounds like an alien.]
    […Now, I just made myself scared.]
    [Um, not that I’m saying I’m scared of aliens or anything!]
    —SETTON HAS LEFT THE CHAT—



Chapter 2: Uncertain Girl
    After school, Raira Academy, Ikebukuro
    What is it that I’m missing?
Anri Sonohara wondered as she walked down the long hallway, lit by the western sun.
    It was nearly a year since she had come to Raira Academy.
    She became the student representative of Class 1-A and made friends with the male representative, Mikado Ryuugamine, and Masaomi Kida from the adjacent class.
    It was the first time she’d been friends with boys, and it felt a little awkward figuring out how to act around them, but everything was going essentially fine.
    Yet she still found that she couldn’t find her “standing” within the school.
    In middle school, she had a clearly defined standing: Mika Harima’s foil.
    Her slightly odd, but pretty and smart childhood friend kept the plain, unremarkable Anri around to make her look better. It was a classic lopsided, parasitic friendship.
    Anri didn’t particularly object to this relationship. In fact, she found it comfortable.
    Regardless of the form it took, someone needed her. Knowing that meant she didn’t have to worry about finding a meaning in her life.
    Just as she was thinking about her past, Mika herself walked by.
    But it was not Anri at her side this time. She was practically glued to the side of tall Seiji Yagiri, the boy she’d been going out with since the start of school—in fact, they were firmly pressed together as they walked. They were making sure the nature of their relationship was seen and understood by everyone around them.
    Mika noticed Anri watching and gave a little smile and a wave.
    “Hey, Anri. See you tomorrow.”
    “Y-yeah…”
    An empty exchange. To Mika, that was all Anri was anymore. She had no need for a foil. Mika had found her own place in the world within Seiji Yagiri. Therefore, there was no more reason for her and Anri to prop each other up.
    This was because Seiji deeply loved Mika, regardless of if she had someone to make her look better. Even Anri, who knew nothing about romance, could tell that they were bound by deep love. It felt as though there was a sheen of insincerity around it, but Anri dismissed that as an illusion created by her own jealousy.
    At the moment, Anri was
just sort of
living her life.
    She was letting the days pass by, maintaining a distance from her few friends that wasn’t too close, wasn’t too far. And a part of her felt that the other part of her that was satisfied with that was wrong.
    But she didn’t even let those two conflicting thoughts fight in her mind. It felt like allowing her consciousness to grapple over different ideas might destroy the peaceful life she had going now.
    Mika, Seiji, Mikado, and Masaomi all seemed to be leading fulfilling lives. If they were missing anything, they knew what it was and displayed a hunger leading them in the proper direction.
    So what am I missing?
    The organized tests at the end of the year were coming, and barely anyone could be seen in the building