Prompt fic. The prompt given to me by miyukiwynter on Tumblr and being that either Shinichi or Izaya go missing and the other freaks out trying to find them.
Tsukumoya never views himself as watching Izaya all that closely. The man drifts in and out of his "line of sight" as most people do, not worthy of any particular special treatment or consideration. Just another person that he watches, maybe slightly more interesting than most (slightly more involved in the curiosities he likes to study and talk about) but nothing special.
So when Izaya drops off of his radar for a few days, Tsukumoya really thinks nothing of it. Not at first.
When two days stretch into five it becomes curious.
When five days becomes two weeks, he starts looking into it.
At the end of a month he has made a few casual inquiries to parties that are as familiar with Izaya's ways as he is, carefully hiding his growing concern behind indifferent lines of text. By the end of the second month he is monitoring as many CCTV networks as he can break into and scouring through the few that have archived footage he can get at for the slightest glimpse of the man. Still insisting to himself, over and over again, that's he's not worried despite the strange sort of discomfort that rolls through him every time he starts thinking about the situation too closely.
After seventy-five days Tsukumoya finally gets a hit. A grainy three seconds of video where someone who might be Izaya is visible and is being transferred from one van to another.
He latches on to that moment like a dog on the hunt even as he wonders why it matters to him. Izaya may very well be perfectly in control of the situation and playing an incredibly long game. And even if he isn't, why should it matter. Tsukumoya has long prided himself on his distance. A perfect observer, watching and recording and ultimately retelling all that he sees. Involvement immediately removes any neutrality he might have and tangles him into things that he has no place in.
Even still, he can't seem to stop himself. Rationalizing it all as part of that driving need of his to know things.
Tsukumoya has to know what Izaya is up to, or perhaps more accurately what Izaya has gotten himself into. He has to know everything.
The truth is always in the details and he spends another few days carefully picking apart the details to be found in those ninety frames of video. The other players, the vehicles involved, the surrounding area. Every little thing right down to the most minute pixel.
In the end he manages to track the van that Izaya had been unceremoniously shifted into. It's a trick, pulling information off of traffic cameras after the fact, but there is very little information that Tsukumoya can't find a way to get at once he sets his mind to it. Narrowing the general area down to a block of commercial buildings, and although it's possible that Izaya has been moved since (or even killed) Tsukumoya can't find any footage that indicates the possibility. All he can do is trust that Izaya is there.
And once again Tsukumoya is left wondering just how involved he should get. It's likely that he's the only one that knows even the general area that Izaya has vanished into. It's even more likely that he's the only one that...
Cares? Well, that's a ridiculous thought. He has never thought of himself as caring about much of anything. Caring implies a certain amount of involvement, emotional or otherwise, that is the antithesis of the careful distance he tries to maintain. Interested in the wellbeing of a business associate is perhaps a little closer.
Whatever the reasoning, Tsukumoya surprises himself a little when he fires off a string of messages to a certain phone. One right after the other.
[Sturluson-san, my apologies for contacting you out of the blue like this. Let's just say a business acquaintance of mine referred you to me in a sense and I think your... unique skill set will be quite well suited to this particular retrieval job I have.]
[Well, truthfully it's more like a rescue job. Given who you associate with I'm sure you're well aware of Orihara Izaya's disappearance.]
[I happen to have found him. And although I'm sure there are some who would prefer if he stayed lost, I can't seem to allow that to happen.]
[A weakness I suppose.]
[Nevertheless, I'll send you an attachment with all the relevant details. Of course you can decline if you wish, but I hope you'll agree that leaving him might not be entirely for the best.]
[No matter how good of an idea it may seem on the surface.]
He pulls together the relevant information (a general idea of which set of buildings Izaya is being stashed in, who is involved, what sort of firepower they are likely to be holding) and sends it on its way along with half of a substantial payment.
And then there is simply nothing to do but wait.
It really is the hardest part. Even though sitting passively by is, if anything, the norm for him Tsukumoya can't help but feel the strangest edge while he waits and watches. An unusual amount of his focus intent on the outcome of this one simple thing to the point where he doesn't even need Celty's inevitable message of "it's done". He already knows, has already breathed a sigh of relief of sorts. Even if he'll never quite admit to it.
Tsukumoya is unsurprised when it only takes a few days after his rescue for Izaya to find his way into the chatroom. Not that he's inclined to comment on it himself. Content enough to let Izaya lead the conversation for the moment.
Orihara Izaya, reborn!
Orihara Izaya
I've been told that I have an anonymous benefactor to thank for arranging my rescue.
Tsukumoya Shinichi
So I've heard.
Tsukumoya Shinichi
I'm not sure which surprises me more. The fact that someone decided to help you, or the fact that you're freely admitting that you needed rescue.
Orihara Izaya
Being captive for nearly three months is a bit humbling.
Orihara Izaya
But I'm more curious as to who was concerned enough about my wellbeing to track me down and have Celty come to my rescue.
Tsukumoya Shinichi
Someone who clearly has a very questionable set of priorities.
Orihara Izaya
You mean to say that you don't know? Or are you just not telling me?
Tsukumoya Shinichi
Now that's a foolish question.
Orihara Izaya
Hmm~
Tsukumoya Shinichi
Don't start. Shouldn't you be recuperating from your ordeal anyway?
Tsukumoya Shinichi
I'm not sure if annoying me is conductive to your recovery.
Orihara Izaya
I'm not in any need of an especially long recovery. But thank you for your concern.
Orihara Izaya
I'd almost think you cared~
Tsukumoya Shinichi
You give yourself far too much credit, Orihara.
Orihara Izaya
Even still, I'm surprised you're not prying for details of what I went through. You're always so nosey. Especially when it comes to me it seems.
Tsukumoya Shinichi
Once again, giving yourself far too much credit. And me far too little. I can find out what I need to know without clumsily pumping you for information.
Orihara Izaya
Can you? Or do you just not want to admit that you need to?
He doesn't answer that, despite the fact that he knows it will only make Izaya even more insufferable, instead attempting to turn Izaya's attention away from his captivity entirely.
Despite his desire to know as much as possible, Tsukumoya isn't sure if he wants all of the gory details anyway.