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“ How did you meet him?” the woman asks one day, taking Mikage by surprise. She doesn't know much about her- her name, she at least knows to be Manami- and they haven't really interacted up until this point. While Mikage is involved with more...outside work, Manami works under Namie, barely leaving the office, though Mikage isn't sure what her relationship with that woman is.
But it seems that Manami isn't interested in talking about Namie; it seems that Manami is interested in talking about the man that brought the two of them, and all the others, together. Izaya Orihara is not one of Mikage's favorite subjects, but she has to admit that, now that Manami has asked about her relationship to him, she's rather curious about Manami's relationship to him, and she knows that she's unlikely to get any answers if she does not first give some.
“ We met in high school,” she answers vaguely. “What about you?”
“ Online.” Manami gives an equally vague answer.
“ Like, a help wanted ad? That somehow both does and does not seem like him...”
“ No, not like that. It was a while ago. Why did you know him in high school?” It seems she's not getting any more information unless she gives up more of her own.
“ Well, I guess...I guess it's pretty obvious by looking at him, but he was pretty popular back then. At least, a lot of girls had crushes on him, and I was one of them,” she replies. “Oh, not that that's the way it is now! But back then, he liked to use me and those other girls however he could...kind of like this group, I guess, but a little different. Anyway, things got complicated, he ended up using me to take the fall for something, and I had to drop out of school.”
“ So you must hate his guts,” Manami replies bluntly, then seems to realize her bluntness. “Oh, I'm sorry you had to go through that.”
“ It's in the past,” Mikage says with a wave of her hand, though, of course, it isn't that simple, and it isn't really in the past if she's still dealing with him. “It's all pretty complicated, though. I don't think I would sum it up that simply. So, how did you meet him online? What's the story with you and Izaya?”
“ It's personal. I'm sorry for asking you so much, but that's all I can say,” she replies. “I guess it's complicated for me too, but it's nothing like your story. I do hate his guts. If I had to answer simply, I'd say that I want him dead.”
“ Honestly? Knowing him, that's a perfectly rational response.”
~X~
The next time they speak one on one, Manami has more questions about Izaya.
“ What was he like in high school? If you've known him for so long, you must know his weak points,” she says. She asks questions with the tenacity of a girl trying to get information on the boy she likes, but Mikage can tell that this is nothing like that.
“ I wish I could be more helpful, but I don't really know if I know anything that's gonna help you like that. I could probably kick his ass for you pretty good, once he's done paying me to guard him, but I don't wanna go to jail, so I can't help you murder him or anything,” she says, mostly joking.
“ I wouldn't want to involve you like that. You seem really nice. I just hoped you might know some weaknesses I could exploit,” says Manami with a smile that almost seems relaxed.
“You seem pretty nice yourself. Whatever he did to make you wanna kill him...well, I’ve said it before, but it seems like a rational response. I’m sure it’s justified.”
~X~
They are, in a strange way, friends, and they begin talking regularly. At first, still about Izaya, and later, about other things, more general things. Though Manami’s motivations remain a mystery, Mikage learns so much more about her, and even though she can tell that there are things the other woman is holding back, she likes everything that she is allowed to see.
In return, she opens up to Manami, perhaps a little bit more in an attempt to show that they can be comfortable with one another, and perhaps just because it’s been a while since she’s had a friend she could open up to like this. She comes to value their time spent together, and she comes to value it in ways that make her wonder if this is all she wants from this.
~X~
“I care a lot about you,” she admits one day, barely managing eye contact as she does.
“Why?” Hearing Manami ask this, seeing the genuinely confused look in her eyes, is enough to break Mikage’s heart, enough to make her want to kill Izaya and anyone else who ever hurt her, a thousand times over, if necessary.
“What do you mean, why? Haven’t we been getting close lately? I like talking to you.” Suddenly this isn’t about a confession; this is about making sure Manami understands that she is important to her, whether she wants to believe it or not. “I don’t see how I couldn’t care about you, after all this?”
“I’m not...I don’t really have a lot of friends,” is all she says. “I haven’t been close with anyone in a while.”
“Not even your family?” asks Mikage, then realizes that’s probably a stupid question. Manami hesitates before shaking her head.
“Not in a while,” she says.
“Can you...you don’t have to tell me everything about yourself. But, do you think you can tell me more about what happened? How you met Izaya?”
There is a long pause before Manami replies, “Alright.”
“You don’t have to, if you’re not ready.”
“No, I…” She nods firmly. “I want to. You’ve trusted me with so much. I...trust you too.”
And so, she tells her everything.
~X~
Manami still doesn’t understand why Mikage cares about her. She doesn’t understand the concern in the other woman’s face as she tells her story, and she doesn’t understand why she wants to spend even more time with her after that. It really has been too long since she’s had someone care about her, and she really thinks at first that Mikage must think less of her too, for wanting to end her life over a lost relationship, and for playing into Izaya’s hand so easily.
But she doesn’t, and instead she offers sympathy and friendship, and Manami finds herself counting on Mikage more than she previously would have allowed herself. Though she doesn't understand why the other woman cares so much, or why she wants to be there when she isn't getting anything in return, she accepts this, and what starts as trust becomes more, as their closeness grows, and she starts to think of Mikage in ways she hasn't thought about anyone, not in a very long time.
The two of them are brought together by the same man, arguably one of the worst things that could have happened to them, but even through that, they’re able to find each other. It’s not a big step, but for Manami, she finds that coming to care for Mikage is a big step for her becoming happy again; as for Mikage, she’s more than glad to be able to support the other woman.