It was midnight in Ikebukuro, rain was pouring from the sky; soaking the streets. If you listened carefully, you could hear sobs coming from an alley next to Russian Sushi. In the back corner of the alley, partially hidden by boxes, Mikado Ryugamine sat curled in on himself, knees to his chest and head resting on his knees.
He had been kicked out of his apartment. Apparently when someone breaks in and breaks everything, it's your fault for not having an industrial lock on the door.
The sound of footsteps sloshing in the rain caused the raven to snap his head towards the direction of the sound, and he saw none other than Izaya Orihara walking towards him. However, he didn't seem to have seen the distraught boy in the corner.
He tried to push himself further into the corner, but the older male's eyes flicked his direction, and his signature smirk grew on his face.
"Well, if it isn't the air conditioner. What are you doing here in the rain? And are those… tears on your face?" His smirk grew more at the realization.
"Go away, Izaya. I don't want to deal with you right now." Mikado said. Izaya sighed and stepped closer and leaned against the wall next to the soaking wet teen.
"Well I'm not going to go away, much like your problem if you don't talk about it." He said. "Contrary to common belief, I'm a very good listener, and may even be able to give you some advice." He said with a serious, yet somehow still playful frown. Mikado looked up at him.
"At what cost?" Izaya feigned shock and hurt at the accusation.
"What? You really think I would kick you when you're down?" He asked with his hand over his heart. "I'm not without a soul, you know. I do truly just want to help. Just don't tell Shizuo, and you get off scot free." Mikado looked at his neutral face for any sign of a lie. When he found none, he sighed.
"Someone broke into my house… everything was destroyed, including some of the walls and doors. I walked in as he was leaving my apartment, or what used to be my apartment, but when I reported it to the police and the owner of the place, they both blamed me for not having the door locked, but I swear I locked it when I left."
While Mikado was telling the story, Izaya listened carefully to every detail. Then he realized that there was no way an intruder would just run past a teenager that he could obviously overpower. His eyes squinted as the story finished.
"Did the intruder have a weapon?" Mikado looked up at him in shock. At first he thought that Izaya might have sent him, but then he saw the look in his eyes. One of those looks a person only gets when they're truly curious.
"Y-Yeah, why?" He didn't want to tell the infobroker in the beginning for whatever reason.
"You got hurt, didn't you?" Izaya, seeing the guilt flash on the younger boy's face, instantly knew. He pushed himself off the wall and kneeled down to the boy in front of him. "Where?"
"J-Just my arm. I put it up when I saw the knife. It's no big deal, though." Mikado stuttered out.
"I take it you didn't go to Shinra's, right?" He asked rhetorically as he took Mikado's wrists and turned them as he looked for the damage.
"No, I was too… I don't know, I didn't think straight." He said with a sigh. He pulled his left arm away when he figured out what Izaya was doing and bend his elbow to show where the blood was seeping into his jacket.
"Well it doesn't look like it's going to stop bleeding fully without a few stitches, but hey, I'm not a doctor, am I?" He, again, asked rhetorically after he rolled the sleeve up over the cut and looked at it with a critical eye. He looked up at Mikado when a thought came to him.
"How long have you been here?" Mikado thought for a moment before answering hesitantly.
"An hour, hour and a half at the most." Izaya sighed.
"Let's get you to Shinra." He said as he helped Mikado stand. He then brought a bandana out of his pocket and wrapped it tightly around the wound and rolled down the sleeve over it. "Try keeping your arm over your heart. Put your hand on your shoulder, like it's in a sling."
Mikado listened to his instructions and did as he was told and started walking, with the slight help from Izaya, on a road that he knew would lead to the scientist's house, but it also had no people. Izaya was probably hoping that he didn't run into Shizuo.
"I can probably make it there myself, you know." Mikado said to break the silence.
"Well too bad, you're stuck with me for now." He replied with a smirk. Mikado sighed and just let the older raven guide him through the abandoned street towards their destination. As they walked, Mikado realized that Izaya wasn't all he thought he was. He wasn't just a cold-hearted bastard. He was a nice guy, when he wanted to be. He was too distracted with all everyone had been saying and all Izaya's seemingly cruel demeanor.
"Izaya?" He spoke up without looking at him.
"Yes, Mikado?"
"You're a pretty okay guy." Izaya was quiet, and for a moment Mikado thought he had said something wrong and was about to apologize, but then the older man spoke.
"If you need a place to stay, my place is always an option. No cost to you." The words coming out of the broker's mouth shocked Mikado, but in a good way.
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. To be honest, you're probably the closest I have to a friend. And that's saying something." Izaya chucked lightly.
"What about Masaomi?" Izaya's chuckling turned to laughter at the young raven's question.
"Masaomi Kida? A friend? No, he and I had a sort of… partnership, when he was mixed up in the wrong crowd. Since he got out, he's pretty much severed connection. At least, until he needed me again when things started getting heated with the Yellow Scarves again." Mikado nodded in understanding.
They walked for several more blocks in silence before they walked up to the building in question. Celty was on her bike outside. She brought out her phone and typed.
'What happened?' Izaya and Mikado read it, but the older beat the younger to the explanation.
"He got cut by a guy that broke into his apartment, he might need stitches." He said calmly.
'Shinra is upstairs dealing with Shizuo. Again. Fourth time this week. I have to go, but I assume you can find your own way up?' Shizuo sighed but nodded. Celty put her phone away and drove off after waving to them.
"Don't start anything." Mikado said. "I'm too tired to deal with it." Izaya looked at him and saw that blood was soaking through the sleeve again and cursed.
"My only concern is with you, not him." He said as he entered the building with the highschooler and got on the elevator, pressing the floor number that Shinra was on.
"Just make sure Shizuo doesn't kill you." Mikado said, making Izaya chuckle.
"No promises, but I'll do my best." He replied as the elevator doors opened. They got off and Izaya knocked on Shinra's door.
"Coming! Hold on a minute!" he heard the man reply from inside. There was a few sounds and voices that came from inside before the door opened.
"Izaya? What happened to Mikado?" He asked after he took in the sight before him. Shizuo, upon hearing the older man's name, stood up and stomped to the door.
"What are you doing here, flea?" He growled out. Izaya got a serious expression, which Shizuo was taken aback by, and stared at him.
"Mikado was attacked and losing blood. Move aside so I can sit him on the couch before he passes out." He said with a monotone, yet serious voice. Shizuo stood aside and allowed the man to bring the boy to the couch and sit him down. Shinra got to work right away, having just finished with the blonde, and as soon as he saw the wound, he got the necessary supplies.
"This'll hurt, Mika-" he cut himself off when he saw that Mikado was out cold. Izaya sighed and took a seat next to the couch and drifted off to sleep himself. It had been a long day, and he was more worried than he was ready to admit about his secret crush.
Okay so this is slightly longer and rushed than I would have liked? But I wanted to get it up right away. This is dedicated to my friend Mikacchi who loves Durarara. It's not a request, but yeahhhh I wanted to do a thing.