Durarara!!, Vol. 4 (novel) (28 page)
Like us, the city wants to take a holiday sometimes.
I’m pretty sure I said that before.
So what does it do when the holiday is over?
It returns to a normal schedule, of course. At that point, it naturally won’t have time to watch you anymore.
After all, only when it has plenty of time does the city toy with its people.
So you see, even if Ikebukuro were locked in a dire, desperate situation, the city will cut its losses. It won’t save you. It says, you should just run to the police.
For you see, once the city returns to normal, it won’t even notice your situation.
But don’t forget: You are also a part of the city.
And as part of the city, you must simply do what you should, with all your strength.
If you do, then someday the city will wish to rest once more.
I pray that we meet again.
May the city celebrate your holiday…
—Excerpt from the afterword of Shinichi Tsukumoya, author of Media Wax’s Ikebukuro travel guide,
Ikebukuro Strikes Back II
Hello, all you
Durarara!!
readers, it’s been a while. I’m Ryohgo Narita.
This story is a peek at the everyday lives of the characters, a bit of a breather between bigger stories. Next time out I hope to deliver much more ominous developments.
When I set out to write this book, my schedule ended up overlapping with about four other deadlines. In essence, this made for the last three days before submission being all-nighters, and after a full night’s sleep, I had blood in my urine, and as I’m writing this afterword, my stomach is killing me. That’s how bad it was.
I’m slowly recovering now, except for my stomach, but I realize that at this pace, I won’t last, and I’m going to take a few months’ break before resuming with my next book… I’m sorry about that.
As for my other series,
Baccano!
, its anime is currently re-airing on demand, the Net, and satellite broadcast. By the time this book comes out, there should be a Nintendo DS game as well. I wrote a story that would be the equivalent of nearly a third of one of these volumes, so if you’re interested, check that out along with the anime and original novels.
For my future plans, I’ll be visiting a doctor if I don’t start feeling better soon—but aside from that, I’ll be rotating between
Vamp!
,
5656!
,
Baccano! 1710
, then
Durarara!!
, hopefully with some “Hariyama-san at the Center of the World” short stories. I feel bad for slowing things down for readers who only follow one series, but hey, if it gets you to try out one of my other works…
Lastly, my usual thanks.
To all the people in Dengeki’s editorial office who okayed various scheduling insanities, the people at the printer’s, the proofreaders, and my editor Mr. Papio, who even came in on his days off to work with me.
To Kazuma Kamachi and Mamizu Arisawa, for endorsing my references to their work, and to many other authors for their advice, including Makoto Sanda and Suzu Suzuki.
To the staff of Smile Café Roots, for allowing me to use them in the story.
And to friends, acquaintances, and family.
To Suzuhito Yasuda, for putting up with my last-second schedule, reading the whole story, and providing appropriate illustrations.
And most of all, to you readers.
Thank you so much!
I hope to see you in Ikebukuro’s odd daily life again!
Ryohgo Narita
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DURARARA!!, Volume 4
RYOHGO NARITA,
ILLUSTRATION BY SUZUHITO YASUDA
Translation by Stephen Paul
Cover art by Suzuhito Yasuda
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
DURARARA!!
© RYOHGO NARITA 2008
All rights reserved.
Edited by ASCII MEDIA WORKS
First published in 2006 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo.
English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo, through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.
English translation © 2016 by Yen Press, LLC
Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Narita, Ryōgo, 1980– author. | Yasuda, Suzuhito, illustrator. | Paul, Stephen (Translator), translator.
Title: Durarara!! / Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, translation by Stephen Paul.
Description: New York, NY : Yen ON, 2015–
Identifiers: LCCN 2015041320| ISBN 9780316304740 (v. 1 : pbk.) | ISBN 0316304743 (v. 1 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316304764 (v. 2 : pbk.) | ISBN 031630476X (v. 2 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316304771 (v. 3 : pbk.) | ISBN 0316304778 (v. 3 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316304788 (v. 4 : pbk.) | ISBN 0316304786 (v. 4 : pbk.)
Subjects: | CYAC: Tokyo (Japan)—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Science Fiction / Adventure.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.N37 Du 2015 | DDC [Fic]—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015041320
ISBNs: 978-0-316-30478-8 (paperback)
978-0-316-30495-5 (ebook)
E3-20160627-JV-PC