Shizuo and Izaya were at it again. Fighting on the streets as the crowd attempted to disperse and allow them to continue their battle, because, really, what ordinary human can stop this?

Miyuki Akane was one of those ordinary human. And she was pissed.

While Izaya and Shizuo continued their fighting, they completely ignore the entire presence of the population next to, or sometimes even below, them. Jumping from buildings, lifting street signs, garbage bins, vending machines, throwing flick blades with great precision. But when those blades are thrown, they are deflected by the opponent, and when the large objects are thrown, they are dodged by the other. Those objects land wherever on the streets below.

And a few of these objects just happened to almost kill this Miyuki Akane. And that was it. Miyuki had taken as much as she can take, but if she was to raise a family in this city, there would have to be changes. She was a married woman, and she was pregnant. And she was walking back home from the hospital, excited about this news, ready to tell her husband, when she had a near-death experience.

Before her child comes into this world, it better be safe from these two. And she was going to do the impossible. She was the one who was going to stop them from fighting. And if were to do that, she would need to snoop.

And so she did. Her husband, Seiji Akane, once worked for an intel operation and was able to locate, hack, break, and find anything and anyone. She would use this to her advantage.

After finding out about their pasts, their life, jobs, and anyone who has any connection to them, she started talking to them. She spoke to Namie, Kida, Mikado, Anri, Simon, Tom, Celty, Shinra, Walker, Kadota, Saburo, Erika, and even Shiki, Mairu, and Kururi, along with some random people that were on the streets, getting their opinion on the duo. It took three weeks to get all the information required, and in that time Shizuo and Izaya were at it continuously. And in that time the news spread to everyone, but Izaya and Shizuo, that a young woman was going to risk her life to stop them. And it was made certain that the two young men were completely unaware to make sure the plan ran smoothly. Namie even held her tongue about the issue, Shiki made sure Izaya got no word about the matter, it was spread secretly over the web to the Dollars to keep quiet. Tom and Simon kept acting normal around Shizuo, Simon completely okay with this plan, just to stop the fighting.

Erika was also completely on board with the plan as well, hoping this would bring the two closer together. And in Miyuki's eyes, from the information she had gathered, that wasn't such a bad idea. It was time to put her plan into action.

It was another normal day in Ikebukuro, so far Izaya hasn't shown up yet, and Shizuo was on the edge waiting. Everyone seemed to be gathered at the sushi place. Erika, Kadota, Saburo, and Walker were intently watching Shizuo as he paced slightly. Shinra and Celty were acting as normal as they can, also keeping a watch on Shizuo, along with Tom and Simon.

Shizuo, completely oblivious to the stares, was more concerned about when Izaya would show up. He's been showing his face more often then Shizuo would like, and he was ready to kill him when he sees him.

With all of that thinking he failed to noticed when a young woman walked through the door and immediately directed her sharp stare on him. When she noticed he was deep in thought, she took the opportunity to take the closest seat near him, ordering some sushi, with a lot of wasabi, apparently her cravings involve very spicy foods.

She waited until she felt the burning in her tongue until finally looking up at the pacing man, who had a frown adorning his features. He was mumbling things under his breath such as, "I'll kill that damn flea," or, "If he shows his face, I won't hold back. He's dead." And so on. Miyuki sighed after finishing off another piece of sushi, coated in wasabi.

"And what will you do then?" She spoke, loud enough for Shizuo to be brought out of his trance, and finally look at her for the first time. Everyone else, who knew what was happening, was staring as well.

"What?" Shizuo took in the woman's appearance. A comfy looking striped sweater, a pair of faded skinny jeans, and black boots. Her hair was long, jet black, and seemed to remind him of the fleas hair color, and her eyes were a sharp green.

"What will you do when you kill him?" Miyuki asked.

"Be happy…?" Somehow what Shizuo wanted to say with confidence was turned into a question when Miyuki shot a dubious glare.

"Really? So a man like you, who claims to hate violence, will live the rest of his life with the thought that he actually murdered someone? And not just a someone, but a person who can actually be an equal to his brutal strength, someone who isn't afraid to get near him?" Well this took Shizuo off guard, he never even bothered thinking about that. And no one really bothered to tell him anything like this either. Miyuki continued. "And tell me, when this entire routine of cat and mouse is over, what will you do? You have probably, somehow, already adapted into this routine of immediately attacking this man when you see him, already spend time just waiting for him to show up. So when he's gone, what will you do?"

Shizuo was quiet. Actually, a lot of people were. Miyuki took this time to finish her sushi before getting up.

"Izaya may not be your favorite person, but he may be the one person that can understand you more than you think. And he may be the one person in this world that can withstand your inhuman strength. Can you really think of a life without him?" She then walked out, leaving him with these new thoughts to get lost in.

Izaya was not pleased. Somehow, Shizuo, the man he came for entertainment, was not giving him what he wants. For a weeks Izaya has shown up in Ikebukuro, and… nothing. Shizuo would look at him, stare at him, and then… turn and walk away? What? What happened to the Shizuo that once attacked at the very sight of him? What happened?

The thing that really gets to him though, is that no one is telling him. No one at all. He couldn't even get any information of what happened, and that was what he was best at. It was like a conspiracy.

This day Izaya had come and done the same thing as every other day, he tried to fight Shizuo, provoke him, taunt him, anything. And nothing happened.

He leaned against the wall in the alleyway, confused and irritated as his favorite toy seemed to be broken. He let out an agitated breath, and almost jumped when a he found a young woman staring at him, her deep green eyes almost looking into his soul. But she was still a human, one of his precious human.

"And who might you be?" He asked.

"Izaya Orihara." She states.

"I'm sorry if I'm mistaken, but that is actually my name." Izaya was somewhat amused, a smirk playing on his lips.

"You like to toy with Shizuo constantly because you apparently hate him. Is that true?" She asked. Izaya raised an eyebrow, smirk not wavering.

"And why does that concern you?"

"You hate Shizuo. You hate him because he is not human. His strength cannot be human." There was a small twitch, it's getting to him. "But see, no matter how much you try to deny it, Shizuo is still human. And you love all humans, do you not Izaya?"

Said man seemed to be forcing the smirk this time. "Again, why does any of this concern you?"

"You want him to die. You constantly put him in situations to test out whether he would survive, and you have this burning hate inside of you that's directed straight to Shizuo."

The smirk was dropped by now. Izaya was just giving a blank stare.

"The thing is, you and Shizuo have a bond, and neither of you seem to want to admit it. When you, Izaya, find yourself one day staring at the lifeless body of Shizuo, what will you do? Actually, if you found yourself in the position to be able to finally, permanently, dispose of him, will you do it?" Izaya was about to answer, but he was thrown off. "Think of life without this one person, this one human, who you actually hate, who is an equal to yourself."

And she left him with that. Now Izaya knows why Shizuo keeps refusing to get near him.

It wasn't until a month later that Izaya ended up running into Shizuo alone, at night. Nobody was outside, it was late, and the two meeting up like that was completely coincidental. The two just went out to clear their heads, the thought of the other was becoming too much. And now they stand in front of each other, never meaning to actually get this opportunity at the moment.

"Hi there, Shizu-chan."

"Flea."

This brought a faint smile to the crimson-eyed man, remembering the times when they fought with nothing in their way to stop them. Until their thoughts surfaced.

"If you want to kill me, now would be a great time." Izaya says suddenly. He doesn't even know why it came out, or how, but it did. And now it was out there. But Shizuo just watched him. "Well?"

"Why don't you kill me instead?" He asked, annoyed.

"Don't fight with me over this Shizu-chan. Just end it." Izaya seemed defeated. He's been thinking too much of this monster for the past month, and it's been driving him crazy. He actually feels remorse, and loneliness, such human feelings. But it was there, burning in his chest. He wasn't sure if it was the same for Shizuo since he hadn't seen him in a month, but he can deduct that that was certainly the case for him as well.

"I won't."

"Why not? It's always been what you wanted." That kind of hurt to say, but it was the truth. Or, at least, Izaya thought that was the truth. Shizuo let out a heavy breath.

"No, that's what I thought I wanted, until I realized I could never do it if the opportunity presented itself." This threw Izaya off.

"Why?" Shizuo looked deep into those red orbs.

"Why are you questioning me? Why don't you take this chance to kill me instead? You have me at my weakest, you can just get it over with now and be done with it-"

"No!" Shizuo was shocked at the way Izaya reacted to that. He seemed to be shaking, but Shizuo wasn't sure if it was from anger, or if he was just upset. He was avoiding Shizuo's gaze. "No…" He repeated softer. "I've dreamt of you dying, for a while now, and… it wasn't how I imagined it would be. To have the monster of Ikebukuro die at last… it was something I always thought was impossible. I didn't know what to do after that."

Shizuo wasn't sure how to react to that. Izaya had just, somewhat, in his own weird way, confessed that he couldn't let him die, or even kill him.

"I still hate you though." Shizuo almost burst out laughing.

"I still hate you too, flea." There amusement in his voice, Izaya could hear it. He looked up the monster in front of him, he knew he didn't really hate him anymore, but Shizuo seemed to know that, and he seemed to feel the same way. Only, that was their way of telling each other that.

"So no more fighting, huh?" Shizuo asked, pondering this. Izaya let a playful smirk adorn his features.

"That doesn't have to be the case." Shizuo let his own grin take over.

The fighting didn't stop. But it wasn't like before either. It was actually a lot more fun for the two. It wasn't just Izaya's game now, it was also Shizuo's. It was something they both shared. They would spend some time in their own world, fighting each other, still running through the city, and somewhat destroying it at times, but later, when both were tired, they would go to the sushi shop, together.

They still haven't said anything about being friends now, and when Shinra would ask, they would deny, still claiming they hated each other. But that was just them covering up their feelings, as what Erika would say, and she couldn't be more right. The two did hold some feelings for each other, that were much stronger than friendship, but until they finally admit that, their denial will have to do.

Miyuki realized she couldn't stop the fighting against them, instead she made promise to watch out for her son when he is born. If anything happens to him, she would kill them herself. Of course it took a while to realize that she was the one who pretty much stopped their hate for each other, and agreed to her terms. This would have to do for now.

Until the day Izaya and Shizuo confess their love, then that's when all the fighting will stop. At least until they get into an argument that goes to far.

But until then, they continue to watch the two progress into their relationship. Shinra and Celty also make some progress together, while Miyuki sits with them and their group, rubbing her much larger stomach, Seiji's hand over hers, and smiling at the two.

No one can really stop these two from fighting. But at least now they're closer to love than before. At least there was some kind of change, in the best way possible.

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Okay, I know I haven't been updating much, but can you blame me? It's summer. And I've been sort of busy with my vacation in Europe, then coming back to America and moving into a new apartment, then getting my transfer done, then finding out my heart isn't that great and I have to go to the doctors and then the hospital, and so on. I really hope they don't make me go through surgery…

Until next time!