Ah, I move so quickly from fandom to fandom! First Naruto, then Bleach, Kuroshitsuji, Shingeki no Kyojin, and now Durarara! I still remember when the only manga I read was Naruto! _
Now, about Acquaintance. I got the idea for this story from an excerpt of a doujinshi that I saw on Google Images, and I thought it was sweet. In the doujinshi, Izaya and Shizuo were lying on the ground next to each other and covered in blood. Their hands were touching, and Izaya said, "Hello. I'm Orihara Izaya. Pleased to make your acquaintance." I haven't decided on the updating pattern for this story yet, but I'm leaning towards once every two weeks on Sunday. I have two other stories that I'm working on at the same time, and I want to find a pattern that will be accommodating and comfortable.
The beginning of this chapter may be a little confusing and slow, but you don't really have to read the beginning. Just make sure that you understand the part about panthers and lions, and be sure to read the ending. That's the most important stuff.
[Acquaintance]
Chapter 1: Friends, Enemies, and Acquaintances
There are three basic labels for everyone that you meet. They can be best friends, worst enemies, or mere acquaintances. And out of those three, only one benefits you more than others.
The worst enemies are definitely not it. They appear as monsters from Hell with sharp horns protruding from their heads and scarlet flames flaring from their mouths. Like demons, they seek to cause pain. Their greatest wish is to plant seeds of suspicion, incite storms of betrayal, and encourage the most poisonous animosity. Their sadistic nature allows them to laugh at others' pain without qualms and gives them an endless desire to cause chaos. There is absolutely no way to get along with them, no matter what negotiations or bribes you offer.
All enemies give more pain than happiness. While one person is tearing his hair out from frustration, his worst enemy is rolling on the floor, laughing to death. But that one laugh is far from enough. The enemy would do anything–anything–to make someone else suffer for the rest of his life. Enemies will go to extreme measures to ensure lifelong grief. The most one can glean from this kind of relationship is good reflexes in exchange for frustration and stress. This trade is definitely not a fair one.
Best friends are the ones who would be willing to do almost anything for someone. They're the people who offer to go kill your ex after a break-up and the ones who buy you things when you don't have any money. Since they know practically everything about you, you can always count on them to lift you up and help you overcome your problems.
However, the fact that they know almost everything about you also makes them very dangerous. Arguments and petty quarrels are inevitable between two people, and people have the annoying habit of exaggerating things that are already dramatic. There is always a possibility of betrayal, even from your best friend, and if it is the best friend that betrays you, then you have found yourself with a formidable enemy. An enemy that knows almost everything about you: your strengths, your weaknesses, your likes, and your dislikes. Best friends hold the potential to be even more dangerous than worst enemies.
This leaves the acquaintances. Acquaintances generally know the name, age, ethnicity, and occupation of someone. They may also be aware of a few likes or dislikes, but not enough to write a biography. They treat you more politely than the other two groups and often give the most sensible ideas, making them the people to have the most beneficial relationship with.
No relationship can ever be clearly in one group. There can be a blend between two groups, such as best friend and worst enemy or acquaintance and worst enemy. However, relationships usually start off in one of the three categories. Take lions and panthers, for example.
In the wild, panthers and lions are enemies. Lions will attack without hesitation if a panther intrudes on their territory. Therefore, panthers learn to climb trees when they're young to avoid being attacked by lions. But remember, this only happens about ninety percent of the time. There is one specific lion and one specific panther who began their relationship differently.
Unlike their relatives, this panther and this lion didn't start off as worst enemies. When they first met, they were somewhat wary of each other. They carefully tested each other's boundaries and cautiously prodded each other's personal space.
After they got used to each other's presence, they didn't immediately become best friends. Any relationship that starts off too quickly tends to end in disaster. Instead, the panther and the lion merely acknowledged that they needed each other. The lion's immense strength proved useful to the panther, and the panther's elusiveness was helpful to the lion. To put it safely, they were acquaintances.
The day they met had been a depressing one. Thick, dark clouds bunched together in the sky above the city of Ikebukuro. Low peals of thunder rumbled in the distance, and the downpour that followed drowned everything in water in a matter of minutes. Yet, the lion didn't move from his place on the wooden bench where he sat with his head bowed.
Peace and quiet. Heiwajima Shizuo.
Unfortunately, Shizuo didn't–couldn't–live up to his name. He was angered easily, and when in a rage, he would forget himself and end up using violence. Throw in Shizuo's immense strength, and he was a force to be reckoned with, even for the most skilled fighters.
People tend to be afraid of things that they consider abnormal. Shizuo's strength wasn't something that was found in many places. Thus, the general population feared him and avoided him, taking measures to stay away unless they absolutely needed to talk to him.
However, there were a few brave people who stuck in Shizuo's company. There was, of course, Shizuo's younger brother Kasuka. The first time Shizuo had displayed his ability was when he tried to hit Kasuka with a refrigerator because the younger had eaten Shizuo's pudding. Luckily for Kasuka, Shizuo had been crushed under the refrigerator's weight before he could throw the object.
Another person was a research-obsessed boy called Kishitani Shinra. Since elementary school, Shinra had been fascinated by Shizuo's strength and had requested numerous times to be given permission to experiment on the blond, who always refused. However, that didn't deter Shinra, who continued to remain by Shizuo's side and badger him with scientific questions.
When Shizuo was in high school, Shinra introduced him to the legendary Black Rider of Ikebukuro, Celty Sturluson. Celty had already heard about Shizuo's special ability from Shinra and had been rather eager to meet the virago. Shizuo found it easy to talk to Celty since she didn't anger him as often as other people.
Aside from those three, no one else seemed to enjoy being in Shizuo's company. In fact, they ran whenever Shizuo was in a bad mood. Just earlier that day, Shizuo had lost control again and had overturned several parked cars, effectively frightening away an entire street of people. After he had calmed down, he found a place where he could be alone with his thoughts and hid himself there. He stayed there for hours, not moving even when the rain came.
The steady drumming of the rain calmed the frayed nerves of the mighty lion, and Shizuo found himself relaxing as he listened with closed eyes. He was alone, completely alone. Until the panther came slinking from the shadows.
"Hello."
Shizuo's head snapped up. His drenched yellow hair was plastered to his forehead, covering his brown eyes. He pushed his hair aside and found himself looking up into a pair of scarlet eyes that glowed at him from the middle of a pale face that was framed with black hair.
As Shizuo stared, the stranger bent down and extended a hand. Raindrops splashed on the smooth skin, making the hand slippery with water within seconds. Yet, the stranger continued to smile, and the hand continued to hover in front of Shizuo's face. Then he spoke the words that would etch themselves permanently into Shizuo's memory.
"I'm Orihara Izaya. Pleased to make your acquaintance."