Izaya walked along the streets of the bustling city of Ikebukuro, watching the people walk by. He loved to walk around the town, just to observe people. People were just so interesting. Humans were such amusing things. He loved to watch their interactions, their reactions, their conversations. It was very intriguing to the dark haired boy in the fur coat.
Izaya also enjoyed to roam the city in hopes that he would see Shizuo. The hot headed blonde was always fun to tease and mock when Izaya was having a slow and boring day. Like today. Izaya didn't really have anything planned for the day. No one had came to ask him to do any jobs. Things were very quiet around lately. Izaya didn't like that. He loved excitement. He loved drama. He loved human interactions. He craved it. He loved to watch humans crumble underneath an unbearable situation.
He sighed, pausing in the middle of the sidewalk. There had to be something that would amuse him. He was so bored. He looked around at the people walking along chatting and laughing. Friends, couples, even people walking alone or on their cellphones. He then found someone that caught his eye.
There was a young woman across the street at the park, sitting on a bench alone. She was looking down at her hands, bitting her lips. Her dark black waves were a curtain that covered the sides of her face. Izaya grinned. She seemed like she would be very amusing. Her reserved posture, trying to avoid the world. He wondered why she was blocking herself out. He began to make his way over the woman, a cheshire smile appearing on his face.
The woman was thinking quietly to herself. She did enjoy the bustling city during the late afternoon. It was beginning to get dark, her shadow slowly merging with the incoming darkness that blanketed the sky. She knew that it wasn't safe outside at night, especially with all the crime that gangs around the city liked to cause. She had to have some time to think though. Before she went to face them, she needed to think.
She then felt eyes on her, and before she knew it, she heard the bench slightly creak beside her. She decided at first to ignore the newcomer. They probably just wanted to sit and think too. Maybe they were going to wait for a friend.
She continued to look down at the ground, deep in thought. This irritated Izaya. Clearly she had to had noticed his presence. Yet, she remained silent beside him, looking down at the ground thoughtfully. He then decided that he was going to have to be the one to break the silence.
"Good evening." The woman looked up in surprise at the stranger's voice, he had short dark brown hair and dangerous crimson eyes. He grinned at her slyly, leaning back against the bench. She blinked at him before nodding in acknowledgment.
"Evening." She looked down at the ground again, pressing her lips together. Izaya raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, even though he knew that she couldn't see it. What was so important that was on her mind that she couldn't have a decent conversation with me? Izaya wondered. This woman intrigued him.
"Lovely night, isn't it?" He directed the comment towards her. She had the option to respond or to simply keep quiet. He grinned when she took the bait.
"It is lovely." She responded quietly, still looking at the ground. "The city is beautiful at night."
"And also dangerous." She looked up in surprise at him. His sly smile never wavered though.
"A beautiful woman like yourself," he put his arm out so it was behind her, leaning against the bench. "Shouldn't be out here at night by herself."
The woman found herself blushing slightly at how confident this man seemed to be. He scooted closed to her, and she averted her eyes shyly.
"It's not that dangerous." She contradicted softly, meeting his eyes again. She could tell that he spelled trouble. She knew she should probably just leave right now. But at the same time, his eyes were captivating. They trapped her in place.
"Oh, I would have to disagree!" He brought his lips to her ears. "Lots of gangs roam around the city at night. You wouldn't want to bump into any of them." His warm breath fanned against her ear, and she quickly scooted away towards the end of the bench.
Izaya couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. How cute, he thought. He then leaned in closer to her. "Why don't I walk you home?" He asked her. She could amuse his boredom for a bit. She seemed like she would be very entertaining.
The woman shook her head quickly. "We only just met! You are a complete stranger! H-how do I not know that you aren't a gang member yourself?" She stuttered, her voice wavering.
Izaya laughed. "My name is Izaya. So now I'm not a stranger anymore." He smirked at her. "And what's your name?" The tone of his voice caused her to blush against her own will again.
She found her lips speaking without permission. "My name is Hinimi Kantai." She gasped, covering her mouth. She couldn't believe she had just given this complete stranger her full name. How idiotic!
The corners of Izaya's lips pulled up into an even wider grin. "What a lovely name." He glanced over at her and she had to resist the urge the squeal. He must had know that he had a effect on girls or something, Hinimi thought to herself.
He then stood up, offering his hand to her. She looked up at him hesitantly. "Come, I will walk you home." She barely knew this man, and he was offering to walk her home. This could end badly, like in one of those movies. He could pull her into a dark alley and shank her, or rape her. He had a dark and mischievous aura to him, and she knew that he was probably not the safest person. She probably shouldn't trust him.
But his charming smile was really winning her over. It couldn't hurt. She sighed, getting up from the bench and ignoring his outstretched hand.
"Fine Izaya, you can walk me home." She told him.
He grinned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "That's more like it. I was beginning to think that you were going to deny my request." Hinimi found herself blushing again. He seemed to be very outgoing towards her. She wonder why that was. Maybe that was just the way he was?
"I considered it." She mumbled honestly, averting her eyes from his. Izaya directed another raised eyebrow towards her.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I did." She responded simply. They began to walk away from the bench, his arm still around her.
"What made you change your mind?" He asked her, a serious expression on his face. Her eyes widened and he grinned. Bingo.
"I-I don't know…" She lied quietly. She definitely wasn't going to tell him the real reason why. She wasn't going to tell him that his attractive smile reeled her in. She wouldn't forgive herself.
"Oh really?" He asked, clearly not buying it.
She shook her head quickly, not looking at him.
"You are such a terrible liar." Her head turned quickly towards him. He grinned mockingly at her.
"I-I am not!" She stuttered.
"Not what?" He asked her. "Are you not lying or are you not a terrible liar?"
Hinimi narrowed her eyes at him, her face red, and he chuckled quietly. This woman was very amusing.
"Don't be a smart ass! By the way, we are walking in the wrong direction." Izaya looked over at her in surprise, then noticed they had started walking towards the left of where they were sat on the bench. "My house is the opposite way."
"Well you didn't bother to tell me." He grinned down at her. "Maybe you wanted to extend your time with me longer, because you adore me oh so much!"
She blushed, turning her head. "Don't get cocky." She grumbled.
He didn't respond, he just laughed. He turned them around and they started walking the opposite way.
"So, why were you sitting by yourself over there?" Again with the questions.
"Just because I wanted to, is that honestly a problem?" Izaya was curious at her sudden change of attitude. She was so quiet and shy, now she was snapping at him. He grinned. There was something she was hiding. It was her way of coping.
"No, not at all. I simply walked over to you because I wanted to too." He looked over at her, a challenging glint in his eye.
"I have a hard time believing that." She answered cautiously.
Izaya just shrugged. "Believe what you want, it doesn't bother me." He smirked. "Although, I have a hard time believing that you were sitting all by yourself because you simply wanted to."
"Well no one asked for your two cents." She grumbled irritatedly.
Izaya laughed and she narrowed her eyes at him. Just what was so funny to him? "I suppose I can't argue with that." It was her turn to raise an eyebrow at him, but he didn't elaborate any further.
"Good sushi yes! Very good sushi!" Izaya grinned at the dark skinned man who was advertising his restaurant as usual. He was a kind man, but his big figure and Russian accent shied people away from the doors of his shop instead of in them. That and things like peanut butter, ketchup, and chicken sushi rolls.
He beamed over at the two and waved. "Izaya!" He greeted cheerfully, his accent thick. "I see you have new friend! Bring her to try our new sushi!"
Izaya smirked at the man. "Although it is very tempting, I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass on that offer." His eyes then darted over to Hinimi and she squirmed underneath him. "I'm escorting this lovely lady back home."
"She looks uncomfortable. He isn't bothering you, no?" Hinimi looked up at the man and gave him a kind smile.
"No, I'm fine. If he was, I wouldn't had taken him up on his offer." Izaya raised a perfect eyebrow, his smile widening. She blushed, averting her eyes from him. "Don't get any funny ideas."
"Well Simon, we'll be off now," Izaya lazily saluted the man, his other arm still wrapped around Hinimi.
"Have good night!" Simon called back as the two continued their walk along the busy streets.
"So," Izaya started, his voice laced in amusement.
"Shut up." She snapped, crossing her arms over her body. "Just take me home already."
Izaya pointed to the upcoming intersection. "Right or left?" He asked.
"Left."
They reached the corner and made their turn, the streetlamp light shining down on the two. A breeze of cold wind caused Hinimi to shiver slightly, and Izaya looked over curiously.
"You're cold?"
"No, you give me the creeps."
Izaya laughed. "You said you took me up on my offer because I didn't make you uncomfortable." He placed his hand on his chest, smiling mockingly. "Were you lying back there?"
She didn't respond, she just stared ahead. This woman really was interesting. He knew others like her. She had problems expressing her emotions, so she tried her best to hide it from the world. Yet, they would do subtle things that would make it obvious that they wanted to talk to someone. They wanted to spill their troubles out. He wondered how he could push this woman to do this.
"Do you ever wonder what the point of life is?" He looked over at the dark haired girl as she stared ahead. Things like this, it made it obvious she wanted to talk to someone.
"Why do you ask?" He challenged her. She rolled her eyes.
"Just answer the question." She grumbled. "Take a right here."
He hummed thoughtfully as they made their turn onto a quiet street. "Why ask what the point of life is? Why not ask what the purpose of your life is?"
She gave him a perplexed look. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm answering your question."
"Thanks for stating the obvious." She replied curtly.
"I think," Izaya stated pointedly. "That you shouldn't worry too much about what the point of life is. I think you should discover what your purpose is."
She sighed. "You just repeated what you just said."
Now this was going to be interesting. "Now let me ask you this: why do you wake up every morning?"
"Because…I have work." She answered.
"Why do you work?"
"Because I need money."
"And why do you need money?"
"To buy food…" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"And why do you buy food?"
"Because I need to eat to survive. What's your point in all of this?"
He smirked at her impatience. "Why do your want to survive?" He mused.
She paused, not knowing how to answer him. He had really stumped her. "I…don't understand what you are asking."
"It's a simple question really. Why do you want to survive?"
She seemed bothered as she pressed her lips together. "Because I care about my family."
He was getting closer. "Why do you care about your family?"
"B-because they are my family!" She exclaimed in disbelief.
"That's it? Come in, there has to be a better excuse then that." He pressed as they continued down the street.
"It's not an excuse! They are important to me!"
"Why are th-"
"Why does it matter?" She snapped.
"I was trying to answer your question, but if you really don't want to know that's fine." He hummed quietly, a small smile on his face as he admired the glow of the street lights. Hinimi sulked beside him, mumbling curses. He was really making no sense to her. What was he on about?
She sighed. "They are important because they are my family."
Izaya grinned. "You care about your family because they are important, and they are important because they are your family." She eyed him cautiously as he continued. "What's so important about them?"
"I hold them dear to me."
"Yeah, but why?"
"That's just how it works. Family is suppose to be important to you."
Izaya hummed. "So you care about them, because in the eyes of society, that is what you are suppose to do."
"No, that's not it!" She argued, pouting. "They really are important to me."
"Why is that?"
"You are really confusing me." She mumbled, averting her eyes again.
Izaya laughed. "How come? I'm just asking a simple question is all."
"Do you just like pissing me off?"
He laughed again. "Come on, you're getting warmer! Why are they really important to you?"
She sighed. "I guess if you want me to get in depth with it, they take of me and I take care of them. We are always there for each other. They would do anything for me and I would do anything for them."
Izaya tapped his chin thoughtfully, the grin never leaving his face. This would be fun, this would be fun. "So let's say that someone in your family does something unforgivable. Would you forgive them?"
She was quiet for some time, staring up at the street lamps they passed by. "Well…I guess that honestly depends on what they did." He was getting close.
"What kind of thing would make you not forgive them?"
She pressed her lips together, thinking hard on his question. "Abandoning our family." She finally answered in a low whisper.
"Oh?" His cheshire grin was as wide as ever.
She didn't respond, but he noticed the pain evident in the woman's eyes. She stayed very quiet beside him.
Izaya and Hinimi reached another intersection and he asked her which direction they were to take. She still remained quiet beside him. He looked down at her curiously. She still have that bothered expression plastered on her face. She looked as if she was trying hard to contain her emotions.
"Hello?" He waved his hand in her face. She sighed.
"Right. We are almost there." He took the turn with her, and he noticed the more they kept walking, the more tenser she became. He then decided it was time to ask her his next question.
"So, if a member of your family did abandon you, then what would be your means of surviving then?"
She flinched at his question and he felt his heart racing. This is what Izaya enjoyed. What he craved. He was pushing her over the edge.
"Your family would probably fall apart, right? Crumble and disintegrate into nothingness. So what would be your means of surviving if you didn't have your family anymore?"
"I…don't know." She whispered, her voice slightly shaky.
Izaya sighed. "Well I guess I can't answer your question."
She grumbled beside him. "What a waste of time."
He smirked at her. "Although," she looked up, her eyes curious. "No one truly knows why we were born. How Earth came to be, how we got here. All we can do is make assumptions or pray to faceless gods that we don't even know exist." Her lips tightened in a firm line as he continued. "If you can't even figure out what your own purpose is in this world, you can't even begin to wonder what the purpose of life even is."
"What…are you on about?" She asked slowly, as she blinked at him.
He tapped the tip of her nose with his finger playfully. "Just listen for a second."
She looked frustrated, but kept quiet. "Everyone is different, so everyone has a different goal in mind that they want to accomplish. Some people try their hardest to reach that goal, while others ultimately give up and decide that life isn't even worth it."
"Do you mean…suicide?"
He ignored her comment and continued. "Not everyone is born knowing what they want to do, what keeps them motivated and going in life. You know what keeps me entertained? Humans."
"…Humans?" She asked.
"I love humans. It's what makes me anticipate every coming day. They are just so interesting. I don't know why I was born or what my purpose is. You know what I do know though? I know I love to watch humans. To see what they make of life. Then there is you. The reason I survive is simply because I want to. I find no interest in dying anytime soon, life is just too much fun."
"So…you just are enjoying life for the ride?"
"You could say that."
"That's interesting…"
Something then came to her mind. "What do you mean, 'then there's you'?"
He chuckled. "Well, well. I think you simply rely on people too much."
She raised her eyebrows at him. "You don't even know me, how can you just assume that?"
"You say that your survive because of your family. Don't you think that you should be a little more independent? Spread your wings a little."
She grunted irritatedly at him. "Well you live because you love to watch humans as you put it. So I don't really see the difference."
Izaya was surprised at her response. He didn't really expect her to say anything about that. He smiled at her and responded: "Well, then I guess we both are clueless."
Hinimi looked very baffled. "Huh?"
"I suppose that's really why no one understands life at all. We are all just caught up in trying to sort our own lives together, that we don't even know where to begin."
"You have a weird way of thinking."
"I could say the same for you." She rolled her eyes and he just gave her a sly grin.
"Well, it's here." They both stopped in front of a door that appeared to be a one room flat. "Well, thanks I guess for walking me." She wouldn't look at him, she just looked ahead.
"It was a pleasure." He removed his arm from her shoulder but she still seemed very tense.
She looked over at him. "Izaya?"
He smirked charmingly at her. "Pained to say farewell to me?"
She snorted. "Please, don't flatter yourself." Her face then became serious. "Do you think anyone will ever discover the real meaning of life?"
He smiled at her. "I think the experience of life itself is different for everyone." She gave him a questionable look. "If you discover your purpose for living, then maybe someone will." Her eyes widened and his grin grew. Bingo.
He winked at her and waved, turning his back. "Take care!"
She just watched the back of his fur trimmed coat walk off, the street lights flickering as he skipped along cheerfully. Humans sure were interesting, very interesting.
So this one shot sure was something. I don't really know where the idea arose from...probably from watching so much Durarara lately. I do hope you enjoyed it though, and maybe got something out of it? Who knows haha :) Thanks for reading! xo
Z. Ashes
