Deceit

"Izaya."

Shizuo called the name softly, without any of the malice you'd expect it to have from their constant fights.

"Shizu-chan?"

Izaya looked up, not putting up any of the defenses he would have when they were in public. He allowed himself to be vulnerable, a rare sight to anyone.

Shizuo walked over, placing a hand on Izaya's arm. "Today's fight seemed tough. Are you okay?"

If you had asked anyone who knew the informant, they would have guaranteed that Izaya would respond with a teasing smirk.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My arm was hurting earlier when it collided with the telephone pole, but it's better now." Izaya responded calmly. "You're improving.". This line was spoken in an approving tone. Shizuo sighed.

"Of course. We do this almost everyday.". He sat down on the couch next to Izaya, who then laid his head on Shizuo's shoulder. "When are we finally going to stop? Aren't you satisfied yet?"

Izaya gave him a regretful smile. "I never intended for it to go this far. We can't stop now. It would be out of character for both of us. I'm sorry, Shizu-chan."

Who said that Kasuka was the only actor in the family? That was where this all started. A simple play. Izaya had been chosen for the role of the prince in their play of Snow White; Shizuo had been the hunter.

Izaya had suggested that they practice their acting skills. The two were close friends, after all, so they weren't going out of their way to spend time together. In a way, Izaya was a perfectionist. He wanted his acting to be superior, and Shizuo didn't mind playing along.

Their first "act" had been a calm-cute relationship. Izaya brought out all his innocence into becoming Psyche, and Shizuo controlled his strength to become a peaceful Tsugaru. It was fun for them, but almost no one else noticed.

Wanting to be noticed, they chose another two characters. Izaya tried to make his character the one he would be for the play; a prince. He acted superior and even haughty; Hibiya. To match, Shizuo acted as Delic, confident and flirty. They earned a few odd looks from Izaya's demands, but otherwise, no one noticed.

In a final attempt to stand out, they acted as their own polar opposite. Izaya became Hachimenroppi and hated humans, while Shizuo became Tsukishima and acted as gentle and clumsy as he could possibly be. This time a few rumors went around, but most of the students seemed to lose interest after their previous acts.

Izaya was angry that him, their God, wasn't being noticed. Even Shizuo became a little upset; he was proud of his acting! They finally made the decision to act as enemies. They were delighted when it worked; everyone noticed and fully believed their "act". But to their dismay, no one doubted it for a second. It was too good.

When Izaya acted like himself a week later, rumors started spreading like wildfire. He was questioned numerous time of his different personality. One girl had asked if he'd gotten amnesia.

On his side, Shizuo was receiving similar remarks. The two were quite angry at this point. Decisions came quickly to adopt their act for a while to satisfy their classmates. Therefore, for the next 3 months, Izaya and Shizuo fought constantly, inventing insults ("flea", "protozoan") and continuously proclaiming their hated for the other. Eventually, their fighting escalated, from simple hand-to-hand combat to full out battles with street signs and knives. The entirety of Ikebukuro began to know their name; everyone recognized them immediately.

When they graduated, they tried to stop their act. They really did. But no one adjusted. Whenever Shizuo came to greet Izaya, the pedestrians quickly moved aside in order not to get hurt. Shinra refused to allow them both in his house at the same time in fear that they would annihilate the place, and even the police learned not to mess with them. They were now restricted by the expectations of the public. Not fighting was no longer an option.

So they continued to fight, although they didn't put any real effort into it. They tried to find amusement from their "games", and they both agreed that it was about as fun as taking out the trash. The two fought; enough to keep citizens satisfied, but not enough to seriously harm the other. So when Izaya had injured his arm in their most recent battle, Shizuo was concerned.

"I wouldn't, but you're going to keep getting hurt like this, Izaya. I don't want to harm you. Can't we just tell them that it was all an act?" Shizuo pleaded. His hand stroked Izaya's cheek gently.

"We can't. They won't believe us, anyway."

"Then, we can tell them that we became friends. It's not that hard to believe. There's gotta be some way to put a stop to this!" his eyes guiltily fell upon Izaya's arm. Izaya seemed to consider it, but shook his head after a few minutes.

"It's not possible. I'm really, really sorry, Shizu-chan." he apologized again, putting his arms around his best friend and supposed enemy.

"I know."

A/N This was an idea that came to me randomly. If you want, I'll make another chapter, but it's originally intended to be a short fanfic.