I am well aware that Shiki is a relatively side character but I have seen fics and sites get this fact wrong: Shiki is not the head of Awakusu-kai, he is just one of the executives within the group (much like Akabayashi.) I just feel that I should set this straight because I really want more people to get to know Shiki's character (so they can contribute to my one-fan team of ShikiIzaya!)

Anyway, how many times can I say this without sounding like I am repeating myself? I love ShikiIzaya! I love ShikiIzaya! I love ShikiIzaya! I love ShikiIzaya!~ They need more love (like mad)! Go watch DRRR! Ep. 12.5 to see Shiki and Izaya sharing the same frame!

I don't own anything.

XXX

False Alarm

XXX

It was the sound of Hijiribe Ruri's new hit song.

It seemed like rainbows would appear and flowers would bloom in the background. But in reality, it was just a pretty idol that got most of Awakusu-kai's executives swooning.

Shiki winced. The song seemed to be getting louder. He glanced around his office for the source, eyes glinting dangerously as his eyes rested on a black cell phone that emitted the bubbly tune.

It was his own.

Stalking over to his desk, Akabayashi's smirk seemed to echo while yesterday's group meeting touched the surface of his mind. Kaichou called them in for a brief meeting, it extended well into the night. By the time they all stood to leave, it was already two in the morning. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turning around, Akabayashi extended his cell to him.

Shiki knew the possibilities but what happened had been the impossible. He would never drop anything, much less his cell phone and in any case, it would never be Akabayashi who would have the kind heart to pick it up for him.

Staring at the black device that sat vibrating on the tabletop, he hesitantly flipped it open before taking the call. Shiki lifted it to his ear and the young informant's voice cracked over the other end of the call.

"Shiki-san?"

There was no wait for an affirmation, the boy almost ten years his junior continued in a hush and hurry, there was an urgency that Shiki had never heard from between those persistent lips.

"I am in a bit of a situation."

"What kind?"

It didn't make sense. He could imagine the mess that Orihara Izaya could tangle himself in but Shiki couldn't imagine the type that he couldn't get out of. Izaya would only be caught dead in a trap if he had wanted to fall into it in the first place.

He had always been too well prepared for otherwise.

"The kind that I need your help."

The hint of panic didn't mellow away, it only added to Shiki's unease, not for Izaya's well being but for the situation. Orihara Izaya never panicked; he had a plan A hidden beneath a plan B and a plan C deep within a plan D.

He let out a soft sigh and as the words left his lips, he knew he was stepping deeper and deeper into a mess that he had no responsibility for. "Where are you?"

The name of Izaya's location sounded awfully familiar. He tried to clear his head for an answer but the possibilities for this situation ranged and even this time, Shiki knew the impossible might just as well be the possible.

"I am charging you double for this."

But Shiki also knew he was just saying that out of revenge for the way the boy's voice could echo in his head even when he wasn't speaking.

"I'll even charge you half-price next time, okay?"

He picked up his keys and brushed off the concerned stares of his men. It sounded too much like another business call, the tone in his voice, the trade in their words. But it was far from the truth.

"Be there in a few."

This was personal.

000

It was a well-known rule that the dark side of society branched out underground.

So it was no surprise when he arrived at the scene to see an illegal casino build into the basement of a seemingly legit office. The only surprise was that this particular casino was under Awakusu-kai's care.

Shiki stepped down another flight of stairs, breezing through both security and bodyguards. Pushing open the last door, he stepped into the room. There was plush carpet beneath his feet and then he saw Orihara Izaya sitting on a leather sofa with his bounded hands resting in the middle of his lap.

Izaya kept his gaze on the ground; he didn't know Shiki was walking towards him with an eye on the thick ropes at his wrist. But neither did anyone know about the switchblade palmed into his left hand.

Shiki was standing in the middle of the room when a deep chuckle from behind interrupted everything.

Izaya looked up. Shiki stood still.

"So this is who you snuck off to call?"

He knew exactly who this voice belonged to. He didn't need to turn around to confirm but he did because today, Hijiribe Ruri might just be his savior. He had to make sure that this absurdity wasn't all in his head.

The man he was now facing spoke up once more. The greeting was hardly necessary.

"Nice to see you again, Shiki."

It hadn't even been twelve hours yet.

"Akabayashi." His eyes flickered to the cane before focusing back on the man behind his dark shades. He cut to the chase with a stoic expression over anything he could be feeling. "What'd he do?"

"Caught him cheating." Akabayashi gestured to a backroom with a shrug. They both knew the inner workings better than anyone else. Shiki nodded, he didn't see the reasons behind why Izaya would play such a dangerous game on their turf but neither did it matter. Akabayashi was a reasonable man.

"How big was the winning?"

This was what mattered because money claimed lives, much like love and drugs.

"Fifty thousand."

There was only one last question left and Shiki wasn't hesitant when calling for a favor. At the end of the day, it was always the outcome that outweighed the process. No one cared if the world had to die for a single human satisfaction. "Can you brush it off?"

"You would owe me."

Shiki raised a brow as he fished out his cell from his pocket and brandished the sleek black device to the other man. "How about we call it even?"

"…When'd you find out?" Even with the shades, disappointment was blatant on his face like a boy with a broken toy.

Shiki nodded to Izaya on the sofa and had to resist the urge to smirk at the grimace on Akabayashi's face.

"When he called."

Karma liked irony.

000

With a wave of Akabayashi's hand, they were left alone.

The man walked up the stairs and he even had the courtesy to close the door behind him. Shiki didn't know whether he should thank the man or not. But now was hardly the time to contemplate Akabayashi and his horrible taste for jokes, there was a boy sitting in front of him with tears wallowing in the depth of his eyes.

"Don't play with a fire you can't handle, Orihara-kun."

Crouching down in front of Izaya, Shiki laid a hand on the ropes and caught sight of the bruise on his cheek. There was dried blood at the corner of his mouth but there was no shame to his youthfulness. Shiki met the boy when he was still just an adolescent seeking for the thrills of the big bad world.

Now, he didn't know whether things had changed but Shiki had to make sure that Izaya knew he wasn't a substitute acting in as a parent.

"Didn't your parents teach you any better?"

Shiki wouldn't be there to comfort the boy every single time he decided the yakuza was next on his list to fuck with.

Izaya's shoulders shook at Shiki's words before a soft confession made its way out of the boy's mouth.

"…My parents work overseas."

Shiki was guarded of Izaya's past.

"They used to come back every half year, then it extended to an entire year. When I turned twelve, they stopped coming back all together."

Suspicion tasted bitter on the back of his tongue but Shiki could never tell his lies and truth apart because he sounded genuine all the same. Instead, he focused on the knots that bounded Izaya's hands together and it was just his luck that he only had a gun on him.

Izaya's eyes were brimming with tears. Shiki chose not to look but his next plea held a fragile fear.

"I don't remember their faces, Shiki-san."

Shiki didn't know how to play the sympathy game and he never deal well with tears, let alone a twenty or so young man that hated to play fair. The silence allowed Izaya to go on, even though Shiki didn't want to hear anymore.

"My sisters hardly listen to me. I think one of them is offering… her body for money."

He seemed to choke on his words, as though teenage prostitution was a foreign thought to both of them. Shiki tried to feel any sort of compassion but he could only muster a light "which one?" as he worked at the final knot.

"Kururi of course. No one wants Mairu's flat chest."

Izaya's pointed reply was followed by the intake of a deep breath, marking the end of his pity party. The tears were drying, the knots were undone, they both stood up to leave.

"…Come on, I'll take you home."

Shiki didn't notice Izaya slipping his left hand into his pocket.

000

The car ride was silent.

They were stuck in the lunchtime traffic as the sun blazed in between the alleyways. The two sat in the bright glare of white yellow.

"Can I?" Izaya's hand hovered over the knob of Shiki's car radio as he waited for permission. The silence was drawn on and Izaya took it as a silent approval. He turned the radio on and music filled the car compartment. It reminded them of rainbows and flowers, Shiki stilled.

It was Hijiribe Ruri.

Five seconds into the song, Shiki had already slammed a hand down on to the multiple buttons of the radio. The brute force he used was unnecessary but it turned off. Izaya didn't know how to handle the sudden hate for Japan's new idol.

They sat in silence for a few more seconds before the ring of a cell phone interrupted.

It was Hijiribe Ruri, again.

"You a fan, Shiki-san?" Izaya didn't even bother hiding the slight amusement from his voice.

Shiki glanced down at the contact name and Akabayashi blinked back up at him. Disconnecting the call without even taking it, he replied with a silent seethe in his voice. "Not at all."

There was no plan for him to drive the young man right up to his doorsteps, Shiki only knew Izaya lived in Shinjuku. Weaving in and out of the streets, he had only intended to pull up to Ikebukuro's station and let Izaya be.

They stopped at a red light.

Shiki could see his office right up ahead.

Out of practice, he would pull into the underground parking lot but instead; he glanced over at the young man in the passenger seat of his car. Shiki could see the red veins in the white of those eyes and he could see the pink puffiness around the usual bleached skin. Pausing, he tried to place himself in the other's positionand asked in an earnest attempt.

"Are you okay?"

Orihara Izaya took his time as he turned to the window to exhale a long breath as if he was contemplating whether he should tell the truth or not.

"…I'll be fine."

With his words, Izaya unbuckled his seat belt and Shiki watched without seeing his eyes. But by the time that he could, it was already too late. Izaya's hand was on the car handle. He applied pressure and pushed outwards, their gaze finally caught on.

There was only thrill left in the hypnotic red.

He slipped out and only his words remained lingering behind in the empty seat.

"I was just joking anyway."

The car door was shut with a shrug. Beneath the joke, it should have been clear. There was just one thing left unsaid. I just wanted to see how far you would go for me.

Shiki's eyes trailed after Orihara Izaya and he grimaced with a shake of his head.

"Attention-seeking brat."

XXX Kuro

Note: Fifty thousand yen is equivalent to about a little over 500 dollars.
PS: This is written under the assumption that Shiki isn't a fan of Ruri since my research has resulted in mixed results... DD:

I am really happy I got the chance to include both Ruri and Akabayashi. I always wanted to grovel at the ground that Akabayashi's cane touched... -shot-