It was spring in Ikebukuro and one of Shizuo's rare days off. He had started the morning with a stroll through the park and a stop by a book store to pick up the new Narahiko Honda novel. Around midday Shizuo found himself at a peaceful coffee shop, the type of cozy place with couches and bookshelves. He bought a coffee and settled down into one of the chairs in a back corner, happy to spend a day in a quiet place with the newest installment of his favorite book series.
A couple hours passed in peace. Customers came and left the café while Shizuo sat absorbed in the pages of his book. Around four pm two particularly animated voices rose over the din of the shop.
"Yes but you got the time wrong, Erika!"
"I wouldn't have gotten the time wrong if you didn't get the venue wrong!"
Erika and Walker squabbled while waiting for their orders. Once they got their coffee they spotted Shizuo in the corner.
"Shizuo!" Erika exclaimed as she ran over to him, drink in hand. Walker strolled up behind her with a backpack so stuffed it looked about to burst.
Shizuo looked up from his book. "Oh, hey guys, what's up?"
They sat down in chairs across from Shizuo. Erika pointed at the book he was reading "Is that the new Narahiko Honda?"
"yeah"
"I didn't know you were a fan!"
"They're pretty good."
"Pretty good?!" Walker was shocked, "Those novels are a work of art! The relatable humanity of the characters! The intricate world building! The winding plots with unpredictable twists—"
"-The romance!" Erika swooned, "The unrequited love between the lonely demon and the beast of Shizuoka!"
Walker excitedly jumped in "But the most interesting characters are the Mako twins! How they solve mysteries and fight evil! Falling from the sky on their enemies in blazes of glory like angels from the heavens!"
Erika turned to Walker and continued "Oh in the new book where the twins figure out who the—"
"HEY!" Shizuo interjected, pulling the other two out of their revelry, "no spoilers."
"Right, right." Erika nodded, motioning that her lips were zipped shut. A second later a spark lit in her eye, "By the way, Shizuo, Walker and I were on our way to the Narahiko Honda signing down the street! Since you're a fan you should come with us! It ends in less than an hour!"
Shizuo looked from Erika to Walker, somewhat reluctant to leave his seat though his coffee had been empty for a while now. Erika and Walker held their hands together and looked at Shizuo with unrivaled determination. He actually was interested in getting his book signed and putting a face to the words that had given him a sense of peace over the last two years.
"Fine, let's get going." He finally said, rising from the chair.
Erika and Walker jumped up and spun together "Yes! An adventure with Shizuo!"
The group grabbed their belongings and exited the shop. As soon as they were in the open air Shizuo lit up a cigarette and took a long drag.
"You know, Shizuo, no one knows who Narihiko Honda really is!" Erika exclaimed.
"I heard they're actually a group of over a dozen people." Walker replied.
"I heard people only think that because Honda hires people to do their signings."
"Maybe Honda is actually a teenage girl?"
"Or an ex-mafioso running from their past!"
Shizuo silently followed Erika and Walker as they continued debating the true identity of the author. He was also curious about who the author really was, but he had no theories. Instead he listened to the other two and pictured the various characters they conjured up. Some of their theories made him laugh as they were so far outside the realm of possibility that they were preposterous, even to Erika and Walker.
"Shizuo here it is!" Erika spun as they reached the door of the book store.
"Im so excited I can barely stand it!" Walker pumped his fists in the air and bounced on his toes.
Shizuo put out his cigarette before opening the door. When the group walked in, there was a line halfway across the small store. There were enough people standing in front of them that they couldn't get a clear view of the table, despite Shizuo's height.
Erika turned to Shizuo "Can you see from there?"
Shizuo tried to lean to see around some of the taller people in the crowd but he still couldn't get a view of the author sitting at the signing table. Though he knew he should be excited, something felt wrong to Shizuo, like a buzzing at the back of his brain telling him he shouldn't have come. After a moment of silence from him Erika's voice broke above the crowd "Shizuo?"
Shizuo blinked and shook his head, "No I can't see anything, too many other tall people here." Walker took his backpack off and unzipped it. Inside were at least ten copies of the novel. "You really think they're going to sign all of those?"
"They may not but it's worth a try." Walker replied "That's why we came here late, so we wouldn't hold people up in line with all these copies that need signed" Walker took inventory of his stock as the line slowly moved forward. Erika, meanwhile, kept leaning to the side to see around people. Shizuo, on the other hand, opened his book and lost himself in it.
"I saw their arm!" Erika exclaimed after a few minutes as the line got shorter. "Shizuo you can probably see now!"
"No, I don't want to ruin the surprise." In truth he felt a sinking in his stomach as they edged closer and the nagging feeling that he shouldn't be there only got worse. He wished he could light up a cigarette. Then he heard it, an all too familiar laugh from up ahead. That's what the feeling was, then. Shizuo closed his book and looked at Erika "I think I'm going to leave. I smell that flea here"
Erika and Walker immediately took hold of Shizuo's arm "No you can't leave! We're almost at the table! Please stay, Shizuo!" He looked down at their pleading faces. As annoyed as he was, Shizuo found himself unable to say no to their puppy-dog eyes. He sighed and said "fine, but that flea better not be here" Walker and Erika released him and he opened his book up again, trying to ignore what he had heard, hoping he had simply imagined it.
Erika pumped the air with her fist, "yes! And we're only five people from the table!" She leaned around the line and her face lit up, "Oh this is better than I could have imagined!" She gasped, "It all makes sense now! Oh they're like lo-" Walker cupped a hand over Erika's mouth before she could say another word.
Walker had also been scoping out the author, but his reaction was markedly different than Erika's. With one of walker's hands covering Erika's mouth he used the other to put a finger to his own lips in a motion to tell Erika to shut up. The two exchanged a look, glanced at the oblivious Shizuo, looked at each other again and nodded before Walker released Erika.
The group waited in relative silence as their turn to see the author approached, but Erika couldn't keep the bounce from her step. As soon as she reached the table she planted both hands on it and looked into the author's face.
"IZAYA!" She cried, "Are you the real author?!"
Shizuo now had his eyes on the flea in front of him but remained silent though he could feel his forehead pulsing. Walker was busy unloading his backpack on the table.
Izaya smiled at Erika, "How much do you want to know?"
"You are, aren't you?!" Erika couldn't contain her excitement, "I never imagined—but this is great! Your writing is amazing! How did you even get started?"
Izaya looked over to Walker's pile of books, "You want me to sign all of those?" Walker nodded, wearing a large grin on his face. Izaya pulled the pile over to him and began signing while Erika and Walker gushed to him about his books. Erika motioned for Izaya to listen and she whispered something to him that made him blush slightly before he laughed it off.
nce Erika and Walker gave ground in the conversation, Izaya turned his gaze upward. "And I see you brought Shizu-chan! I didn't know you were a reader." He gave Shizuo a strangely warm look.
Shizuo was thrown off-guard. "So this is what you're doing now, flea?"
"Yes, well after so long doing the same thing I thought a change of careers would make things interesting again"
"Why are you here?"
"Here? Oh, in Ikebukuro? I was hoping I would run into you, actually. The idea of you chasing me around the city again felt somewhat nostalgic, I must admit. So what do you say?"
Shizuo took a deep breath, "I say it sounds like a shitty way to spend my day off."
"Then how about a drink to catch up?"
During this exchange Erika and Walker were looking between the two men with growing senses of anticipation and dread.
"DO IT!" Erika broke the strained silence, "Say yes, Shizuo!"
"What? Why? It's Izaya. All he ever does is cause trouble." Shizuo replied to Erika, eyes still trained on Izaya.
Walker stepped in, "Well it's not just Izaya anymore. It's Narahiko Honda, the most popular new novelist in Japan! You can't turn down a drink with him!"
"I can."
"Come on, Shizuo, you haven't seen him for 2 years!" Erika pleaded, "And these books are more than just books now!" Her attitude changed suddenly and there was an inspiring fire in her eyes "They're love letters and heartfelt apologies! The lonely demon! The beast of Shizuoka! Oh how did I not see it before?!"
Shizuo raised an eyebrow at Erika "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Oh and you've been reading these books non-stop since they came out, haven't you?! Only a true fan picks up a new novel the day it comes out! How romantic that the love letters were unknowingly received! That they were taken for simple stories and that the author had to hide behind pen-names to truly reveal his love!"
"huh?" It wasn't that Erika was wrong. Shizuo did find the Narahiko novels strangely comforting and familiar. He had often thought Narahiko Honda's books felt like home. Though now that he knew the source of that comfort he wasn't quite sure what to think.
"You should at least give him a chance. He is a celebrity now." Walker said, as if that was the most logical argument.
Izaya was standing now. He had an infuriating smirk on his face. "So, Shizu-chan?"
It had been 2 years since Shizuo last saw Izaya. 2 years since Izaya disappeared from Ikebukuro entirely. 2 years that had calmed Shizuo's uncontrollable rage. The fact that the book store was still in one piece after he came in contact with Izaya attested to how far he'd come. The thought occurred to Shizuo that perhaps he wasn't the only one who had changed. He spent a moment mulling things over in his mind. Maybe-and this was a thought he never expected to have-he should give the flea a chance.
Shizuo found himself saying "Alright. But you're buying."