Shizuo and Tom look up at the run-down looking apartment complex, Shizuo tilted his head, it didn't seem like anybody was living here. "Hey Tom, are you sure this is the right place?"

Tom hummed and shoved his hands in his pockets, taking a few steps forward. "Think so"

Shizuo scanned the building, the brick work was cracked in several places, it was even tilted ever so slightly to one side, and with only a few fully whole windows, he began to wonder how the hell anyone could even live here. "Doesn't look like a place anyone could live" he voiced aloud, of course he did, he wasn't going to keep that to himself, Tom was used to his bluntness anyway.

Tom shrugged and then smiled over his shoulder "Anyone can live just about anywhere, especially when times are hard, people get desperate; I suppose anywhere is better than the streets, even a place like this"

Shizuo sighed, pushing up his shades and then clicked his tongue, a tint of blush on his cheeks. "Tch. Man, now I feel kind of bad for saying that"

Tom chuckled a little, his friend was considerate, and he loved that quality about him. "Don't worry about it, I won't think bad of ya"

Shizuo smiled "Thanks. I guess, what I meant was, that if anyone is living here, they got no logic borrowing money off a loan shark company like us, right?"

The duo step into the building, even the stairs were worn, and the walls looked like they could just cave at any moment, Shizuo began to grow concerned, what if the client pissed him off? One burst of anger and he could bring the whole place crumbling down. They ascended the stairs carefully, even Tom looked concerned, though Shizuo suspected it wasn't for the same reason that he was. It appears the building only had one floor, yet the stairs felt like they went on forever. Only when they reached the top did Tom finally answer Shizuo's question. "I can certainly understand why that'd be a concern, gotta say, boss might have gone on a whim with this one"

They walked through the corridor, it was quiet, but they could hear shuffling through the doors they passed. Shizuo made a point to keep his hands in his pockets, he didn't need fancy apartments or expensive possessions, but even he felt uneasy being here; he began to feel sorry for those they lived here. For a moment, he pictured what Izaya would think if he was with him right now. The way his face would scrunch up, the way he'd keep checking around himself, how he'd make a point not to touch anything; kind of like what Shizuo was doing now. Somehow though, Izaya's behaviour would be way more amusing, the informant would do nothing to hide his disgust. In fact, Shizuo suspected he would outright refuse to even enter the building, it made him think about those who sought him out for work. Wonder if this was probably the reason why Izaya made it a point to either have them come to his workplace or meet them out. Shizuo smiled, Izaya had rented out another apartment, like the previous one they lived in, and used it purely for work only; he claimed it was, so he didn't get distracted. Shizuo knew better, it was so that at the end of the day, their apartment still felt like home once they returned, it made their lives a lot more private, and for that, Shizuo was extremely grateful.

Once they got to the end of the corridor, there were fewer doors, and it became even more quiet. Shizuo tensed, his fists clenched from within his pockets. "Tom?"

Tom turned, stopping just before he could knock on the door "What's up?"

Shizuo stepped forward "Don't know. Gotta a bad feeling all of a sudden"

Tom blinked in surprise, usually, when Shizuo said something like that, he was usually right. He'd known the guy for years now, and he was hardly going to start doubting him now. "What's wrong?"

Shizuo sighed "Nothing, maybe it's just this place, s'kinda giving me the creeps" he admitted somewhat embarrassingly.

Tom chuckled "Well, we'll be out of here in no time, so don't worry about it"

"Yeah, all right" Tom nodded and then turned to tap his knuckles against the worn wooden door. Shizuo grabbed his arm lightly, halting him again. "Let me go first, ok?" Tom smiled, it wasn't like Shizuo to be this worried, but he wouldn't rebut him, they switched places. Shizuo knocked on the door. At first attempt, they got no answer. Shizuo growled low in his throat and tried again, knocking a little harder. The door rattled, Tom winced, this building wasn't exactly in the best shape.

Please let the client not piss Shizuo off Tom thought, though that wasn't his main concern, his main concern was Shizuo's concern, when the man had a bad feeling, he was usually bang on.

The door opened to reveal a short brown-haired woman; her eyes widened at the sight of them both. She stared at them for a moment before attempting to slam the door shut again. Shizuo was quicker, his hand flat across the door as he easily caught it and pushed it fully open. the woman gave a shrill cry and stumbled backwards. "Relax. Not gonna hurt you or anything" Shizuo said as he and Tom entered the room cautiously. "Just here for the payment, all right?"

The woman stared at them; eyes terrified but her whole face was utterly confused. "You borrowed money, right? Just here to collect" Tom said slowly, he hoped that she wouldn't try to do a runner, it was strange, but most of their clients were usually males. It wasn't as though they'd give special treatment to them if it happened to be a woman, but sometimes, they had to be a little less threatening. It was a good thing Shizuo had more control over his anger when around women. "Are you listening? Come on, we'll just take the debt owed and go, nobody is gonna hurt you"

Shizuo scowled, she looked completely lost for words, his eyes trailed over the apartment, or rather, the room. It was barely something you could call an apartment, there appeared to be a pile of bedding in the corner of the room, not even a mattress, no tv, no couch, not even a coffee table. Something told him she was living here without permission, at least, he got that feeling, given the lack of, well, anything. He looked to the left, another door, closed. Probably the bathroom Shizuo assessed. He then looked down on his right, a single chair, but it was what was on the chair that caught his attention. It was oddly strange, even now, he surprised himself with his eye for certain details. Izaya had taught him to be attentive and perceptive over the years they'd been together, it definitely paid off, in more ways than one. In the last year, Shizuo had even gotten a small raise, his boss and Tom proud of his accomplishments, not getting pissed off and causing damage all the time was always a plus in the boss's book.

He picked up the paper, tilting his head, it seemed important. The reason he was unable to figure out what it was, it was not in Japanese, even if it had been in English, he'd have a little understanding of it, maybe. He could hear Tom still trying to converse with the woman.

Tom sighed, he stepped back, closer to Shizuo and whispered, "Maybe she's deaf?"

Shizuo shook his head "Pretty sure that's not it. I don't think she understands us" yeah, it was clear to him, judging by this sheet of paper-whatever it was- that the woman was most likely a foreigner.

"What makes you say that?" Shizuo turned around and showed him the paper, Tom gave an exasperated sigh. "This really sucks"

Shizuo looked at the paper again, he had no clue what it said, but he'd seen the structure of writing before, a few times actually. "I think she's Russian"

Tom blinked in surprise "Seriously? How the hell do you know that? Don't tell me you can speak Russian now?"

Shizuo had to laugh, it was sort of funny, to see how he seemed to keep surprising his long-time friend; huh, he kind of understood how Izaya felt now, surprising people, seeing them react to something he'd done or said, it was a little satisfying. Except, Shizuo only found it so, by the good things that he did, Izaya would not be that much of an influence on him. Shizuo shook his head. "Nah. I can't read a single word on this paper. But I'm positive it's Russian"

Tom shrugged "If you say so" Shizuo and Tom then look back at the woman "So then what now? I'm quite sure our boss doesn't speak Russian, so how the hell did we wind up collecting a debt from her?"

Shizuo had no reply to that, he really didn't know. "Anyone at the office know Russian?"

Tom laughed "Doubt it. I'm thoroughly confused"

Shizuo stepped toward the woman, who instantly tensed, he held up a hand "S'alright. Not gonna hurt you. ah, why am I even talking" he smiled and then sat down, cross legged. Showing her with actions, that he wasn't a threat. She hesitated and then mimicked him. Tom smiled, his friend never ceased to amaze him, the man could make friends with anyone if he wanted to.

"Hey Shizuo? Quick question"

"What's that?"

"How can you be certain it's Russian? Like, what gave you the clue?"

Shizuo tilted his head, and then lay his palms flat out behind himself, leaning backwards. "Well. Izaya speaks Russian, fluently actually. I've seen him type emails, even write out a few documents in the language, I never really asked him to teach me" Shizuo laughed "I'm not that patient, but I've seen him write enough to recognise it"

Tom gave him a slight grin when he looked over his shoulder. "Tell me we're on the same page here?"

Shizuo thought for a moment, then realised what Tom was asking, he didn't need to voice it. "Really?"

Tom shrugged "Give him a call, we need the help man"

Shizuo looked at the woman again, smiled and held his hand to her when he stood up. She blinked up at him and gently took his hand. "I'd rather not"

"How come? Sounds like he'd be a great help here"

"That's not the problem. We don't know what's really going on here, kind of all seems a bit sketchy if you ask me. I- I'd rather not involve Izaya in something I don't even know myself about, you know? I've no doubt he'd help, which is why I don't wanna ask" Shizuo gave him a grin "Gotta keep him out of trouble when I can"

Tom laughed with a nod "I get ya. No sweat. So what about Simon? He is Russian after all"

Shizuo nodded with a smile "Yeah, great idea! That'll work"

"We'll come back, I'll explain to the boss, I'm sure he won't mind" Tom turned to the woman, waving his hand a little, Shizuo nodded at her, smiling. "Do you know any words? Like, see ya later or…even goodbye?"

Shizuo scratched the back of his head, blushing a little. "I know something, but I doubt she'd wanna hear it"

Tom pulled a face "Never mind. Sorry I asked"

Shizuo blushed even more "Not like that! Nothing like that! I just-" Shizuo said the next part faster, feeling totally embarrassed "I know how to say I love you, all right?"

Tom blinked and then smiled "Oh. That's cute. A little odd, that Izaya picks that phrase of all things to teach you, doesn't really help us now, still, cute"

Shizuo looked away, still with a tinge of red on his cheeks "Tch, shut up" Tom chuckled, as they were about to leave, the woman grabbed onto Shizuo's sleeve. They turned around, halting by the door. Shizuo took his sleeve back gently. He nodded at her. "We'll be back" hoping that she understood that at least. They left her.

….

Shizuo frowned as he stared at the ground, they were on their way to the sushi bar, to retrieve Simon so they could communicate with the woman. Tom noticed his lack of conversation, and, the concentration on his face, like he was deep in thought. "What's up? You've been quiet since we left that building ten minutes ago"

Shizuo stopped walking, causing Tom to stop, he tilted his head, concerned. "That look she gave me, right before we left, I can't stop thinking about it, she looked, I don't know, scared"

Tom hummed in thought, then shrugged. "Well, she probably knows she's in trouble with us at least, she's gotta know that much"

Shizuo's frown deepened "That's not it. Something's wrong, I can't explain it, but I get the feeling we shouldn't have left so quickly, I feel like she was telling us to stay"

Tom knew Shizuo was serious, he didn't say anything he didn't truly mean, the man wore his heart on his sleeve, always. "What do you wanna do then?"

"You go ahead. I want to go back"

"Really?"

Shizuo smiled "Yeah. Need to follow my instincts, in fact, I'll meet you at Russia sushi, I'll try and bring the woman with me" Tom watched Shizuo begin to retrace his steps, he shook his head with a sigh, not that he was annoyed or anything, he just didn't want him getting in trouble unnecessary. Tom jogged to catch up with him, Shizuo stared at him in surprise as they walked in sync. "You don't have to-"

Tom shrugged with a grin "Well, you gotta keep Izaya out of trouble when you can, so I gotta do the same for you no? After all, he can't keep an eye on you all the time either"

Shizuo chuckled "Appreciate that"

The two retraced their steps, and they were soon back at the apartment complex, the bad feeling coming back instantly. Shizuo felt it more so than when they'd first arrived. Once they reached the right door, Shizuo again knocked first. They could hear loud whispers, and it seemed as though the woman was now not alone. Tom and Shizuo shared a glance, it couldn't have been no more than half an hour. The whispers turned into shouts and something that sounded like a glass breaking, then it became eerily silent. Shizuo's heart raced and his skin crawled, he growled and raised his foot. "Fuck this" he mumbled loudly.

Tom raised his hand in an effort to stop him. "Wait a minute-" Too late, Shizuo's foot connected with the door harshly, and with the structure being what it was, the door was completely busted off its hinges. He stormed in and his eyes scanned over the room; a few seconds passed and soon enough, Shizuo stumbled forward, almost falling face first into the floor. He felt something wet run down his face as he grabbed his head with a low growl. Tom's eyes widened. "Shit, Shizuo…. are you okay?"

Tom ran into the room and then they spotted a man making a run for the window. Shizuo's eyes snapped up to him, nothing but pure rage in their depths. He ran over and instantly grabbed the guy by the back of his hoodie. "Get the fuck back here!" the man screamed out as he was yanked to the floor, his eyes staring up at Shizuo with fear. He didn't understand, at the proximity and the object with which he attacked him, Shizuo should have been unconscious, or possibly dead. "You just clobber a guy over the head and expect to walk away unharmed!?"

The guy shook his head frantically, Shizuo grabbed him by the shirt, raising his fist, he was about to punch his lights out when- "Shizuo!"

Shizuo looked up, he froze, Tom was knelt on the floor by the woman, lifting her up slightly. Shizuo could see a deep gash across her forehead, she was barely moving. His grip on the man's shirt loosened and he dropped him, out of shock. "She all right?" he asked, somehow, he thought he already knew the answer.

"I'm calling an ambulance…." Tom said hurriedly as he reached for his phone, the woman reached up weakly and grabbed his arm, halting him from doing so. Using the distraction, the man bolted and headed for the window, Shizuo span around and was about to jump out after him. Tom looked up and called him back, Shizuo grit his teeth, watching the man get away, his grip on the window ledge tightening, causing a large crack to surge up the wall. "Don't go getting into trouble Shizuo, we have no idea what's going on yet…"

Shizuo clenched his fists, he'd never been so angry. Tom looked down at the woman in his arms, she looked at him, half lidded eyes and was able to mutter something in Russian, but then they were able to make out a name at least, before her eyes fluttered closed and she became limp. Tom's eyes narrowed and he pressed two fingers to her neck, he looked at Shizuo and then closed his eyes as he shook his head. Shizuo fell to his knees, feeling utterly defeated, in a way, he felt like this was all his fault. He slammed his fist to the floor. "Fuck!" his body shook, he'd never been witness to a death before, it was gut wrenching. Shizuo felt absolutely useless, like he could have done more, could have gone back sooner, could have stayed, could have saved her…

Tom gently lay the woman down, this was now a crime scene, and they needed to be careful. He stood up and then knelt by his friend, a hand coming up to his shoulder. "Shizuo…, we need to contact the police…"

Shizuo didn't say anything, he just nodded and stood up with Tom. Then they heard it, a shrill cry. Shizuo's expression suddenly came back to life, he blinked at Tom and their attention turned to the closed door. "Is that…"

"Sounds like a baby, you've got to be kidding me…"

Shizuo attentively took a few steps toward the door and then slowly opened it, and the cries instantly became louder, both men winced. There, on the bathroom floor, was a grey basket, and within its bundles of blankets, a small baby. "Shit, you're right Tom, it's a baby"

Tom walked up behind him, looking down at the thrashing infant. "Ah man. This just got even more complicated, what now?" Shizuo frowned a little, he walked forward and knelt to the basket, the crying was grating on his nerves, but he was hardly going to lose his temper over a baby. "Shizuo…"

Shizuo placed his hand inside the basket, gently touching the baby's arm, the little one didn't even notice, just kept on crying. "Damn it…" Shizuo winced.

"Pick it up or something" Tom told him

"But…. it's so damn small, what if I hurt it?"

Tom covered his ears with his hands "You'll be fine, just- make it stop crying" Shizuo stared at the baby for a moment, he and Kasuka hadn't been that far apart, so he barely remembered how to even hold a baby. Even Izaya would be a lot more experienced then he was, still, he put both hands inside the basket, tucked them under the baby's arms and lifted the infant out of the crib. The baby looked no more than three months old, Tom wasn't an expert, but he could tell that much at least. The moment Shizuo stood up with the baby, the crying seized to a light whinge. They walked out of the bathroom and into the dark display of the living room. Tom sighed with sadness, he hadn't expected this turn of events, he then pulled out his phone. "We need to contact the police; they'll want a full description and I'll need to notify our boss too…."

Shizuo kept staring at the baby that was held at arm's length, having really no clue how to hold it right. "W-what about…. what about the baby?"

Tom looked over "I guess they'll take it to social services"

Shizuo nodded, yet, he felt inclined to disagree. "What about the father?"

Tom sighed again "Yeah well, if that asshole happened to be the dad, then we're not going to have a problem there" Shizuo nodded, frowning as he understood the implications, the baby would be placed into care then. "Something wrong?"

Shizuo lowered his arms a little, the baby had stopped crying now, and was looking at him through half lidded eyes, not quite able to stay awake for long. it seemed as though, that it was at least old enough to support its own head. "Don't know. I just feel responsible"

Tom tilted his head "What do you mean?"

"I should have stayed here. you saw the way she looked before we left…. I could have-"

"Shizuo. This wasn't your fault, don't go feeling guilty or anything, neither of us could understand her, and we still have no idea what happened, why that guy was suddenly here"

A thought suddenly crossed his mind, Shizuo looked up from the baby "What if- damn it, what if he was already here!? What if he was here the whole fucking time!" Shizuo bellowed, momentarily forgetting that he had a baby in his arms-or hands- the baby let out another scream, the two men winced. Shizuo looked down, bringing the baby closer to him, trying his best to hold it against his chest, rocking the infant softly. If it weren't for the situation Tom might have laughed at the scene, the strongest man in Ikebukuro, comforting a baby-of course Tom knew Shizuo was gentle really-but it just looked so damn funny, he looked so awkward.

"What do you want to do then?" he asked, and what came next, Tom never expected to hear.

"I'm going to take it home"

Tom nearly choked on the air, his eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets. "Are you- seriously?"

Shizuo looked at the baby in his arms, it was fussing a lot, but it seemed to be getting comfortable. Shizuo felt guilt stab him in the chest, the baby had just lost its mother, and all because they didn't act sooner. "I just- it's my responsibility, I could have done something more, doesn't feel right to just hand it over to social services"

Tom lowered the phone for a moment "You realise what you're saying here? this isn't some kind of stray dog you're taking in-" Shizuo almost laughed, he wouldn't get one foot in the door if he brought home a dog. "It's a baby Shizuo, you don't just get to decide, 'oh hey, I think I'll keep it' this is a human being man, and we have no idea what's going on"

"Exactly, something fishy was going on here, I just want to make sure this kid is safe"

"That's fine, I agree, but, isn't that what social services are for? I know you feel responsible and all- this wasn't anyone's fault but that guy's, taking home the baby on account of guilt is a bad idea"

Shizuo sighed, somewhere in the back of his mind he knew Tom was right, what if that guy really was the dad? What if he tracked the baby down? Shizuo frowned then, if that was the case- "Tom. What if that asshole was the dad? If we take the kid to social services, it'll be a lot easier for him to get the baby back wouldn't it?"

Tom tilted his head, Shizuo had a point, then the baby really would be no better off. "I guess so, but-"

"Then it's safer with me"

Tom smiled, his friend was such a good person, he really wished people would stop thinking otherwise, they just didn't know him, it got him angry sometimes. Then a thought crossed his mind, something Shizuo probably didn't really think about. "Aren't you forgetting something? Or rather- someone?" Shizuo blinked, Tom sighed, honestly, Shizuo was so one-track minded sometimes. "Izaya?"

Shizuo shuffled awkwardly "Yeah. I know. I'll think of something"

Tom shook his head, seriously? He was really going to just take the baby home and hope for the best? "No offence, but I really doubt Izaya is the paternal type, in fact, he'd probably laugh"

Shizuo frowned a little, while it was true that Izaya was hardly the parental type, Shizuo knew damn well the informant wouldn't laugh. "No, he won't. but, you're probably right about the paternal thing. If that is the case, I know he'll help to deal with the situation before we hand the baby over"

Tom nodded, he then looked over at the woman. What a mess he thought. He then grabbed the sheet from the floor of the makeshift bed and gently lay it over her, mumbling an apology. He then turned to Shizuo, who was still trying his hardest to hold the baby in a better position. It wouldn't do well for him to be here when the police showed up, if he really planned on taking the baby with him, then- "Hey Shizuo, you should go now"

Shizuo looked up from the baby "Huh?"

Tom smiled "Yeah. You won't get anywhere with the infant if you're here when the police are called. I'll tell them what happened, no sense in both of us being here, as far as I can tell, the baby doesn't even need to be mentioned, it's not hurt is it?"

Shizuo looked the baby over, it was whinging, but it seemed fine. "Don't think so"

Tom nodded and shrugged "So, take it with you, I just hope you know what you're doing. Take the basket with you, think I saw some things you might need"

Shizuo smiled and retrieved the basket from the bathroom "Thanks Tom, I owe you" he said as he returned.

Tom waved a hand dismissively "Forget it. You're probably right, anyway, shouldn't give over the baby when we don't know if that'll make things worse"

Shizuo nodded and then smiled as he began to walk out of the room, he stopped then, glancing at the sheet that was covering the woman. "Don't worry" he told her "The baby is safe"

Tom's eyes softened as he watched Shizuo disappear into the corridor. He then looked down. "He's right you know; no better man is capable of taking care of that baby then he is"

…

Izaya stopped by a lamp post of the street he was walking on, finally, he was finished for the day. He'd met with several individuals throughout the morning, then spent the entire afternoon observing two men who seemingly ended up having nothing better to do then to try their luck with someone whom he himself knew very well. The two men he'd begun to follow hadn't been part of his schedule, but the sudden description of someone being mentioned had him worried, and so he had tailed them all over the city. He praised himself on his amazing instincts, because the moment they made their move, his suspicions were correct, their sights were on Anri. Sure, Izaya knew Anri could take care of herself, but she was still a young teen. Izaya didn't know why they were suddenly after her, he opted to find that out later, but for now, she was safe, because it hadn't taken him long to mess with them enough to warn them off.

In fact, Izaya smirked at the memory, the moment they saw him, their whole persona changed. They knew who he was, and being a very famous information broker, they knew how dangerous he could be, but that wasn't all, the moment they saw him, they instantly connected him with another famous dangerous individual- Shizuo Heiwajima. In the last few months, people in the city had gotten used to the fact that he and Shizuo were now officially a couple, it took a lot of time, but nonetheless, word got around. That was when a phrase began to become somewhat famous- 'mess with Orihara, you mess with Heiwajima' at times, Izaya was somewhat annoyed by this, because he still had a job to do, and even now, despite not breaking his promise, he still liked to mess with people. It was harder to do that nowadays, because the minute they saw him, they were either ready to run for the hills or give up whatever they were hiding very quickly, to which Izaya found extremely boring.

Other times, like the situation with Anri earlier, he really didn't mind, two men were hardly a match for either of them. But who knows if anyone else lurked nearby, he didn't want to put Anri in an unnecessary potentially dangerous situation. So knowing that he was now on to them, they would probably keep their distance, and Izaya didn't mind if that was only because of Shizuo. Izaya sighed, it had been a long day, it was already dark and even after the whole incident with Anri, he hadn't finished, because after that, he received a phone call from an unknown person. Honestly, he would have preferred to just go back to his workplace and relax a little, he still had other information he needed to email. He was curious about this one however, although, it did seem a little farfetched. The unknown person called him out of desperation it seemed, Izaya couldn't help but think the man he spoke to was one that got the job done himself, and he somewhat admired that, so for him to call an informant like Izaya, the raven knew he wasn't playing around. The information he got, was that somebody had kidnapped his child, maybe out of spite, or maybe for ransom-since he got the impression this man was something of importance.

The man couldn't give him a description of the kidnapper obviously, but he gave him a few names that might have had something to do with it. So, Izaya spent most of the evening tracking those names and connecting them to all kinds of places, all except the one he was hoping for. In the end, none of the names the man had given him had led him any closer to finding out the kidnapper. He phoned the man back and questioned him about his work, but he only got vague descriptions about lawyers, it seemed possible, if the man was a lawyer, people might threaten his family if he'd sent dangerous people down. Izaya managed to get another name after probing a little more-Daijon Menton. It sounds like the name of a condiment Izaya had thought with amusement. The name didn't even sound Japanese. He opted to think from a kidnapper's point of view, Ikebukuro was a large city, and if he were a kidnapper, he'd rather not hold someone in such obvious places. So after asking around one of the rougher areas of Ikebukuro, suspicious activity was mentioned by several locals which had led Izaya to a rather run-down looking apartment building.

Questioning some of those that lived nearby or within the building, he had discovered that a man and a woman were presumably residing in one of the rooms. That wasn't the suspicious part, a week after they had been there, they had heard baby cries coming from the room. Izaya concluded that there was more then one kidnapper involved, he then spoke to an old woman that owned the corner shop across from the building. Izaya learned that a man fled the building in a hurry, a body had been discovered shortly after, and another man was seen leaving the scene- with a baby. Now, Izaya had no other leads to work with, seemingly had one dead kidnapper, one completely disappeared and the other who now was in possession of the child. Izaya was now back to square one, he was still no closer to finding the child and that building had been his best lead. Izaya phoned the man back to explain what he'd discovered; it was safe to say he wasn't happy about it. Izaya told him that there were a few other resources he could check with, so he bought himself some time and would continue the search tomorrow. The search was difficult, since the child apparently wasn't very old, not even half a year. So that left him no description to which he could ask people, the old woman couldn't remember what the man whom had fled the scene looked like, and only caught barely glimpse of the one who had taken the baby.

It was already nine by now, he was tired, and rather annoyed that he hadn't been able to stick to his schedule. He began to make his way home and then as luck would have it, a heavy rain pour began. "Terrific…" he wrapped his jacket around himself. "What a day…" his phone then rang, again. Frowning, Izaya stopped, taking shelter under a nearby shop sign. He looked at the caller ID. It was Shizuo, no doubt he was starting to worry. He answered with a slight smile. "I'm fine" he said immediately, getting straight to the point he knew Shizuo would ask. "I'm on my way home now- hm? Order whatever you like, I'm in no mood to cook anyway-I'll just have some rice with a little soy sauce" Izaya rolled his eyes with amusement, Shizuo was such a worrier. "I know, but I'm fine, just a little- wet. I'll be home soon- yes, you too" he then hung up, sighing as he shivered a little, the rain didn't let up, in fact, it only got worse. "Ugh"

….

Shizuo looked up from the table that he was currently setting out with cutlery, he heard the door open and close and smiled shyly as he lit two candles. Shizuo heard the sound of keys being thrown into the dish by the door and then Izaya shuffled into the kitchen. He was absolutely drenched, his hair sticking to his forehead as his fur coat clung to his thin frame. "Shit. I kind of told you it was suppose to rain" Shizuo told him, only to receive a glare from his partner.

"Well I had planned to be home already, but my day got screwed up. Don't lecture me now, I'm fucking cold, I'm tired and-" it was then he noticed the table setting, and the candles, he smelt the aroma of the food that had still yet to be placed on plates. He then raised an eyebrow as he locked eyes with Shizuo. "What's the occasion?"

Shizuo shrugged "Nothing. I just- sounded like you had a bad day on the phone, so I brought food like you asked, and wanted to make it- nice"

Shizuo was definitely the romantic one out of them both, however, there was being romantic and there was acting suspicious. Izaya knew the blond well enough by now, to know when he was either hiding something, or he'd done something that Izaya was most likely not going to like. "What did you do?"

Shizuo blinked up at him after pouring himself some wine. "Huh?"

Izaya sighed as he leaned against the door frame. "As much as this is nice. There's something going on, spill it"

Shizuo shuffled his feet, suddenly not able to look Izaya in the face. "I uh- well…"

Izaya was about to say something else when a massive flash of lightening startled them, which was soon followed by a loud clap of thunder sounding through the apartment. "At least I made it home in time before that happened" Izaya turned around, heading for the stairs. "I'm going to get out of these clothes, I'd really rather not deal with a cold right now"

Shizuo's eyes widened and he ran out of the kitchen. "Izaya wait-" Shizuo would prefer to tell Izaya first, before he noticed. But another flash of lightening and an even louder roar of thunder, caused the very thing Shizuo was trying to tell him of, to begin screaming. Izaya froze mid-step on the stairs. Shizuo winced at the cry. Izaya turned to his partner, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Shizu-chan, what is that?"

Shizuo scratched the back of his head sheepishly "Damn it. I was going to tell you, stupid storm. It's kind of a long story…"

Izaya narrowed his eyes and continued up the stairs, Shizuo followed after him. Izaya walked into their bedroom, and there in the middle of their bed, amongst a bunch of pillows so that it didn't roll off the bed, confirmed the informant's guess. "Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo stood in the doorway, trying his best to ignore the crying. Izaya was going to be pissed. "Yeah?"

"Why is there a baby on our bed?"

Shizuo walked into the room with a sigh. "There's a really good explanation, I swear"

Izaya looked at him, cringing at the cries of the infant, damn it. "I'm all ears, but first, do something about that" Izaya pointed at the bed, he was already getting a headache, it didn't help that he was still in his damp clothes. "I'm going to shower. Then we're going to talk about this" Shizuo winced at Izaya's tone, yeah, he was definitely not happy. Once Shizuo explained the situation, he was sure Izaya wouldn't be so annoyed with him.

Izaya let out a sigh of relief as he stepped into the warm shower. The events of the day played through his mind, it had started out rather uneventful, but once the whole Anri scene happened, it just got more complicated. Coming home to then find out Shizuo had brought home a baby, of all things, not even a stray cat or something- a fricking baby. Izaya frowned then, a baby…. he had been searching for a baby, hadn't he? Izaya shook his head. No way, that's just too much of a coincidence.

Izaya stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist and a smaller towel around his neck. He looked over at Shizuo, who was still trying to calm down the baby, Izaya chuckled, it was honestly a rather amusing sight. He ignored them for the moment, opening up his draw and pulled out some shorts, he slipped into them quickly and then leaned against the wooden furniture. "Shizu-chan, it's not a football"

Shizuo glared at him, but he was holding the baby at arm's length. "I don't want to hurt her"

Izaya raised an eyebrow "So it's a girl" it struck him as odd now that he thought about it, the man didn't even mention the gender of the child, then again, Izaya hadn't asked.

"Y-yes…you know, had to change her…"

"How did you-" Izaya shook his head "Never mind"

Shizuo seemed to know what question Izaya had wanted to ask, "There were a few diapers in the basket"

Izaya blinked at him, he had so many questions floating around his head right now, but first things first. Izaya rolled his eyes and held his hands out, he needed to cease the crying. Shizuo seemed surprised as he handed Izaya the baby, Izaya took her into his arms and Shizuo watched him cradle her head and curl his other arm under her. He felt his heart skip a beat at the strange scene, he couldn't help but smile, he knew the raven would know what to do. Izaya sat down on the bed and the baby finally stopped crying as she snuggled against Izaya's bare chest. "Finally. I suppose Shizu-chan might be a little scary to a small human like yourself hm?"

Shizuo snorted "Oi shut up, the storm probably scared her"

Izaya chuckled in response "I'm kidding"

"Tch" Izaya realised the baby had calmed down enough that she'd fallen back to sleep. Izaya shifted carefully and placed her back in the makeshift nest of pillows. Shizuo smiled. "You're kind of a natural, you know that?"

Izaya glared at him and stood up, shoving the blond toward the door. "Don't even- out" they made their way back down the stairs, and into the kitchen, the baby's cry was loud enough so they knew they'd be able to hear it. The two sat down at the table opposite one another. "Talk. Now"

Shizuo winced again at Izaya's tone, he felt like he was being scolded by one of his parents. He took a deep breath, and suddenly the image of that woman flashed through his mind and he blanked. He lowered his head and threaded his hands through his hair, damn it, if only he'd gotten there sooner, if only he'd stayed…. His hands started to shake with anger, and he slammed his fist on the table, almost knocking the candles over.

Izaya flinched, he blew out the candles, just in case, and his narrowed eyes turned soft for a moment, he stood up and knelt beside him. "Shizu-chan…." Izaya wasn't very good at comforting people, least of all Shizuo, heh, usually it was the other way around. After all, Izaya was always getting himself into ridiculous situations, and while being stubborn about it, saying things like he was fine, Shizuo would comfort him in the end. This time it seemed, it was Shizuo that needed him, and quite frankly, it kind of scared him. What exactly had happened to make the blond act this way? "Shizu-chan" he tried again and placed his hand on his thigh. "Talk to me" he tried to chuckle, something to lighten the mood. "I know I'm not very good at comfort but-" Shizuo suddenly turned around and wrapped his arms around the informant. Izaya let out a squeak of surprise and the weight of Shizuo leaning forward caused them both to almost topple. Shizuo slid off the chair but didn't let go, now they were both just, sitting on the floor. Finally, Izaya moved his arms and wrapped them around Shizuo's broad back, he could now feel how shaken the blond was. "Hey. Shizuo, what happened? Just talk to me"

Shizuo's eyes suddenly snapped open, blinking as he realised what he was doing, he pulled away, slightly embarrassed. "Shit. Sorry. Didn't mean to get that way"

Izaya smiled a little, it was actually kind of nice, for him to do the comforting for once. Not that he would want Shizuo to ever feel this way in the first place. "Makes a change ne?"

Shizuo huffed a laugh, swiping a hand through his hair. "Shut up" Izaya stood and held his hand out, Shizuo's cheeks tinted red and he took the offered hand and they stood up. "Sorry"

Izaya pulled on his hand and dragged him into the living room. "Come on" they were both now sat on the couch. "Tell me what happened"

With another shuddery breath, he started to talk, he was calmer now; it seemed Izaya was better at the comforting act then he realised. Izaya listened to his every word, the more he spoke, the more he began to piece things together in his head, honestly, how could this have been so convenient? Once Shizuo was done, Izaya sat back, of all the accidental mishaps- the very baby he was looking for, was the same one that was currently in his bedroom, brought home by none other then his partner. Did that make a total of two kidnappers, or three? He knew that Shizuo wouldn't outright kidnap a child, but from what the neighbours had seen, one dead, one fled out of the window, one fled with the child. There was obviously a misunderstanding here on Shizuo's part, ignoring the fact that they had gone to the room to collect debt-it wasn't the first time that their own 'clients' and those that linked to Izaya's had crossed paths. He didn't understand one thing, if they really were kidnapping the child for ransom, then why the hell borrow money? Unless, they did it to pay the debt back? Gaining a lot more afterwards, made sense. Back to the number of kidnappers, now that he knew that Shizuo had been the one to leave the scene with the baby, that added a total of two, he would hardly count Shizuo. One dead, one fleeing the scene, but all he needed was the child, and he found her, the man didn't need to know who the kidnappers were, since that old woman couldn't even remember what the other one looked like anyway. He never found out whether it was that Daijon Menton the guy mentioned or not-it didn't matter, because he had completed the job. Izaya would make up some story about finding the apartment, causing the man to flee the scene in horror at being discovered and evidently, leaving the baby behind. He'd buy that right? After all, it wasn't exactly a lie, now was it? Just that it was Shizuo to find the kidnapper, not him.

"Izaya?" Izaya blinked, realising he must have zoned out rather a long time.

Izaya chuckled "Sorry. I was piecing things together"

Shizuo frowned "Not exactly a funny situation"

Izaya sighed, he could imagine how guilty Shizuo must have felt about the woman, he was determined to put an end to that. "I wasn't insinuating it was. It's all right Shizu-chan. Rest assured that this whole thing was not your fault, and it was very much a misunderstanding"

Shizuo's frowning expression disappeared, to be replaced by a confused one. "What?"

"Ok. this is going to sound oddly coincidental at first, but bear with me, it'll make sense once I've finished explaining"

….

Shizuo sat there, completely at a loss for words, what he heard couldn't be right could it? He could not have misinterpreted the situation that much, could he? Was Izaya really telling him, that the man and the woman, were both kidnappers of that baby? Seriously? Shizuo shook his head, no way, that couldn't be true. "You're wrong Izaya"

Izaya raised an eyebrow, he actually laughed, his explanation was spot on, it cleared up the whole thing, surely Shizuo could see that? "Excuse me?"

Shizuo snorted "Yeah. I know you're usually right, so don't let that knock you off that high horse of yours"

Izaya blinked, whoa, that was a little- harsh. Damn, the blond looked kind of- pissed. "Ouch" he wasn't sure what to say to that, Shizuo wasn't usually that snarky with him. He then frowned, now he waspissed, how dare he- "All right. Tell me why I'm wrong"

Shizuo seemed to shut his mouth, Izaya knew damn well he wasn't good with words like him. "You weren't there"

Izaya tilted his head "Right. That cleared that up, I believe you now"

Shizuo glared at him "I'm not finished!"

Izaya glared back, they were raising their voices now? "Fine. Enlighten me some more, oh barer of words" if Shizuo wanted to get snarky, then he could give it back just as much, if not more.

Shizuo clenched his fists and stood up, he so had to walk away now. He took a deep breath to calm down. Izaya watched him walk toward the door and then back again, gripping the back of the couch. "Don't talk down to me"

Izaya raised an eyebrow "I wasn't"

"You-"

"You started it, I wasn't intentionally degrading you, I was simply snapping back to your first comment" Izaya smirked a little "Or maybe I was too high up on my horse for you to hear right"

Shizuo faltered, oh, he sighed and slumped, his anger fading a little. He didn't realise how his words might have affected Izaya, most people wouldn't know it, but words cut him deeper than any wound could. Shizuo knew for a fact, as well as that, Izaya didn't like being yelled at. "Sorry…"

Izaya looked away, embarrassed at being discovered, damn, Shizuo knew him too well. "Whatever" Shizuo then walked around to the couch and slumped back into the seat, arms dangling over his knees as he leaned forward.

"I don't want to argue like this"

Izaya turned to him, Shizuo's words forgotten. "Look, I'm not saying I don't want to believe you, the information from both sides just fit too well. Can you think of anything else? Something that might throw it off?"

Shizuo looked up at him, well, at least Izaya wasn't completely dismissing his instincts. "I'm trying. All I keep seeing is that woman…"

Izaya shifted closer to him. "Don't think about that right now. Go back to the beginning, what about the apartment? What did that look like?"

Shizuo frowned "Well. It wasn't really an apartment, just a room, a mattress with some sheets thrown in a corner, and a bathroom, no furniture at all, except for a chair" Izaya hummed and Shizuo sighed "All right. I know that sounds bad. Like the kind of place one would take a person they kidnapped"

"Quite true. But there are many other places you could take someone. But since we're talking about a baby, a small room like that would be sufficient. Anyway, what else do you remember?"

"She was Russian"

Izaya blinked, he didn't think that was something Shizuo would forget, but then again, he wasn't really thinking straight right now. "I'm guessing she didn't understand you?"

"Not a bit. She looked, so confused, Tom and I wondered just how the hell she even got the money, our boss doesn't speak Russian, and neither do those we work with"

"The second guy is starting to make more sense isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"A second kidnapper. He was obviously the main speaker of the two, he probably borrowed the money before, the child being kidnapped was to get ransom money"

"Your guy tell you that?"

"Not specifically, he doesn't know the reason behind why someone would kidnap his child, but he is a lawyer-at least that's what I got from the information he told me, so a ransom would fit"

Shizuo shook his head, not wanting to believe it, but what Izaya said, seemed to be making more sense. "Something was wrong, I know it was"

"Yes. The baby was kidnapped, you saved her"

"No. that woman, she wasn't a kidnapper"

Izaya sighed "Shizu-chan, how can you be so sure? You can't always rely on that instinct of yours, sometimes, facts need to be made"

Shizuo growled "Why!? It's always worked before; they've never failed me"

Izaya smiled "Even if that's true. Just like me, there will come a time when you're wrong, I was wrong about that stalker after all"

Shizuo clenched his fists "Fuck!"

"If you can't remember anything else, then I don't have any choice but to return the baby to her father tomorrow. I won't tell him about you obviously, I already have a story in mind as to how I found her. Unless you want me to tell him that you rescued her? He might give you a nice reward, he is rich you know" Shizuo glared at him, Izaya chuckled. "Relax, I was kidding about that last part, your involvement doesn't need to be mentioned"

"I don't give a flying fuck what you tell him! I'm telling you; something isn't right!"

Izaya narrowed his eyes, Shizuo was really adamant, wasn't he? He'd really like to believe him, he really would. "Calm down-" and then there was a faint whinge before it turned into an all-out cry. Izaya tilted his head in agitation. "Now look what you did"

Shizuo scowled, and then sighed, great, he woke the baby. "Sorry"

Izaya didn't intend on moving, he looked over at Shizuo "Off you go then, it's your fault she woke up, you can't blame that one on the storm"

It was then Shizuo realised, that indeed the storm had stopped, how long had they been talking? Or rather, arguing. He got up from the couch, and made his way up the stairs, he had no idea how to comfort this baby. Izaya seemed to know exactly what he was doing, the image of him holding her, still warmed his chest, he didn't think he'd ever see that side of the informant.

Izaya leaned back on the couch, fishing his phone out from his pocket. He opened up a new conversation with the unknown number from earlier in the day. His thumb hovered over the keys, hesitating, what if Shizuo was right? If he sent a text to the man, telling him he found his daughter and that she was safe, what if that was really putting her in real danger? Heck, the guy hadn't even revealed his own name! then again, he was a lawyer, if people were out to get him, he wouldn't reveal his name either. But he didn't have anything else to work with, everything about what he found out, was and seemed legit. He didn't have time to start a search on this guy, the man wanted the result tomorrow, if he started to stall, the man would surely get suspicious. His thumb began typing on the keys quickly. :I have good news. Your daughter-: actually, scrap that, Izaya deleted the word and wrote instead :Your baby is safe, where shall I meet you?:

As expected, it didn't take long for him to reply :That's fantastic! Thank you, I owe you! please, meet me on green street, there's an office building in between a block of apartments, make a left and you'll see the entrance behind. It's a little secluded, I like my privacy. Given how you saved my daughter, we wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you, so it'll be a good place to meet:

Somehow, the way the man said that, made him uneasy. He shook it off, confirming that the baby was a girl, only managed to side with Izaya. For some reason, he hoped that Shizuo had been right. Speaking of, Izaya noticed the crying had actually stopped, he smiled in amusement, he had to see for himself just how Shizuo had gotten the baby to stop fussing. He made his way up the stairs and silently stood in the doorway. Shizuo was singing! Holding the baby in the way Izaya had shown him, and he was singing. As gruff as his voice usually was, it sounded way gentler now. Izaya smiled, who knew? His smiled then faded when he realised what lullaby Shizuo was singing away to. He then let out a light chuckle, almost startling the blond. Shizuo turned around, indeed the baby was asleep now, but that was more amusing. Shizuo blushed. "How- how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough. Who knew you could sing?"

Shizuo blushed harder "Shut up. I can't sing. I just, all babies like lullaby's, even I know that"

Izaya walked into the room "True, but you do realise that lullaby is about a girl comforting herself, singing about her miserable situation? She was forcibly sent away to work for a rich family at a village across the mountain. As she works for the family with a baby on her back, she is reminded of her own family, looking at the silhouette of the mountains in the direction of her homeland"

Shizuo's face was priceless! "The hell?"

Izaya laughed "Its true. It's an old real story"

"Who the hell would sing that to a child?"

Izaya tilted his head "You just did"

Shizuo shut up and then snorted "Only because I didn't know what the hell I was even singing about"

Izaya chuckled "I don't think it was really intended to be a child's lullaby when it was made"

"How did you know about that anyway? D'you look up information about lullaby's as a kid or something?"

Izaya shrugged, watching Shizuo gently place the child back on the bed. "I had two little sisters. I didn't want to creep them out"

Shizuo blinked at him, he'd been joking, did Izaya really- "Seriously? You actually researched lullaby's? weren't you like- nine?"

"Old enough to understand. I may not have gotten along with them much after high school, but I didn't want to unnecessarily frighten them, they were infants once" Shizuo smiled and walked toward the raven, who narrowed his eyes "What?"

Shizuo wrapped his arms around Izaya's waist. "What a softy"

Izaya tried to shove him off "Ah. Shut up. Don't make fun, Shizu-chan, it's not nice"

Shizuo chuckled "I'm not. I was just surprised is all"

Izaya pouted "I wasn't always an asshole, you know"

Shizuo smiled again "I know that, I'm still surprised though. Maybe information really was your calling huh?"

Izaya smiled then "Maybe"

"So what else?"

"What?"

"What other lullabies are creepy?"

Izaya shrugged "Practically all of them, in my opinion. Especially rock-a-bye baby, or something like that"

Shizuo seemed shocked "What's wrong with that?"

Izaya laughed, Shizuo really didn't read much into anything. "Shizu-chan, come on, think about the words ok?" Shizuo nodded, as if he was really expecting Izaya to actually say the whole lullaby. "Seriously?" Shizuo was still waiting, Izaya sighed, what a weird conversation, however, it seemed to lighten the mood from their previous one, so he didn't mind much. "All right, listen. 'Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top'- first of all, why the hell is a baby in the tree- 'when the wind blows the cradle will rock'- and now there's a cradle, no question as to why- 'when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall'- now that should be obvious to anyone, but what kind of sick human would allow that to even happen? 'and down will come baby, cradle and all'- so basically, at the end of this lullaby the baby dies, that's suppose to comfort them? Like, all the while, the baby is probably thinking, oh, shit, they're going to leave me in a tree and I'm going to die. I mean, really" Shizuo didn't have a clue what to say, he'd never heard such a vivid description of a simple lullaby before, every detail well thought out. But Izaya was definitely right though, had no one thought of the implications of the song as they sung it to their baby? Shizuo had to chuckle, Izaya seemed so offended by the very idea of that rhyme.

"You ok?"

Izaya frowned and realised he'd actually gotten worked up over a damn nursery rhyme, he blushed a little. "Shut up. Do you get it now at least?"

"Yeah. I know what you mean. So what did you sing?"

Izaya shook his head "I gave up on finding one that didn't sound creepy, or ridiculous. So I read to them most times"

"And you didn't find anything creepy in children's books?"

"Even back then, I was good with words. So I made them up. Nothing about false impressions of the world, I didn't want them to think it was all happy and bright"

Shizuo snorted "How blunt of you"

Izaya pouted "I wasn't finished. I didn't want them to think the world was all doom and gloom either. I wanted them to know that there were monsters out there, real ones. But, at the same time, some monsters could be misunderstood-" Izaya's eyes widened as he realised what he had said. Shit. "Forget that"

Shizuo raised an eyebrow "Meaning?"

"Nothing! Forget I said anything"

Shizuo smiled, when they first met, that would only make the girls around six, right? Old enough to understand a story, young enough to be told one. "Izaya- were you, were telling them about me?"

Izaya looked away, quickly covering his face, how embarrassing! "No…"

Shizuo grabbed his wrist, pulling his hands away from his face. "You actually were"

Izaya shoved him "Shut up" embarrassed to be found out, and since Shizuo was holding his hands now. He hid his face against Shizuo's chest. "It's not what you think. I just- I knew at some point you'd probably know of them, and most likely get to know them as they grew up. You hated me, but I didn't want you to hate them too, or even the other way around. I thought, that if you liked them at least, then it'd make me feel comfortable knowing that if they got in trouble, that you'd protect them"

Shizuo was absolutely dumbfounded. Was that why he always felt a little protective over them? Why he never seemed to hate them as he used to with Izaya? Izaya had really pushed that into their minds? That even though he was always angry and throwing things, they weren't to be scared of him, but to treat him like normal? To like him. Izaya had really done that, even though they hated each other. "I never knew that. Why didn't they tell me? It might have changed my opinion of you a lot quicker"

Izaya smiled up at him "I told them not to. I didn't think it'd make much of a difference. By the time I left high school, I got involved with the Awakusu and we didn't talk much after that. Besides, I'd framed you just after, so I doubt you would have believed them anyway"

Shizuo sighed, man, they really had fucked up all those years, hadn't they? "I guess not"

Izaya wrapped his arms around Shizuo's neck. His embarrassment forgotten. "It doesn't really matter now ne? whatever happened before, seems like it was meant to happen"

Shizuo didn't reply and simply pressed his lips against Izaya's. Izaya moaned softly, his hand coming to rest on Shizuo's arm, while the other remained around his neck. They soon broke away at the sound of a cry. "Your turn" Shizuo grinned

Izaya rolled his eyes "You're the one that brought her here, this is your problem, I'm still hungry, so I'm going back downstairs to eat. Come down when you've gotten the baby back to sleep" Shizuo looked at him, Izaya moved toward the door, the raven wasn't kidding.

"Izaya-"

Gone. Shizuo glared at the empty doorway. He then looked at the flailing baby on the bed, what had he gotten himself into? It was harder than it looked.

…

Izaya had eaten his rice and placed the other food containers in the fridge. Shizuo hadn't come down, but he couldn't hear the baby cry either, so he assumed that Shizuo had fallen asleep with her. He turned off all the lights, checked the locks and then made his way up the stairs quietly. As he walked into the bedroom, his thoughts were confirmed, the bed was lit only by the lamp on the nightstand. Shizuo was lying on top of the covers, still in his clothes, sleeping with a slight frown on his face, yet the baby was safely tucked into his arm, clutching at his shirt as she slept. Izaya simply stared at them, how could Shizuo even think that he'd hurt her? Even by accident? Sudden guilt crashed into him; he still hadn't told Shizuo that he'd sent the text. He wanted to believe Shizuo was right, he really did, but it just simply wasn't the case. Izaya got into the bed, very carefully, he didn't want to wake either of them now. He glanced at the clock on his side, damn, how was it that late already? In just a few hours, he'd have to get up again. Now that he'd gotten into bed, he really was exhausted, the whole day had been weird. He was used to working to that extent, but still, he usually gave himself a little break in between. He wondered if he should have told Shizuo about those men after Anri, nah, it wasn't relevant, and he'd only worry anyway.

Thoughts went back to the kidnapping. No matter how he played over the information, he couldn't come up with anything different. Izaya closed his eyes, he needed to sleep, he sighed; the moment he closed them to finally rest, the baby decided to cry. Ugh. What did I do to deserve this?

…

Neither Shizuo nor Izaya were very talkative when they woke up. Their sleep had been interrupted rather a lot, and they were simply avoiding unnecessary arguments. After showering, coffee made, coffee half drank, twenty minutes trying to figure out how to mix the formula that was also conveniently left in the basket, and Izaya explaining that they simply couldn't just give the baby their own milk, they were a little more themselves. Izaya had told him about the text, Shizuo still wasn't happy about it, and avoided talking more about it. Izaya was annoyed by that, he was going to try and ask him more about what happened at the apartment, whether he could remember anything the woman said, whether it was in Russian or not, he'd understand it. But no, as it were, Shizuo wanted to stay mute, and so, Izaya didn't say anything else. Izaya glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall, he finished his coffee and then stood up. "I have to go. Do you have work today?"

Nothing.

"Ignoring me now? That's kind of childish, don't you think?"

Nothing.

Izaya sighed, he then picked up the basket that the baby had been placed into. At least she wasn't crying at the moment. "I'll see you soon"

He was about to walk out of the room when Shizuo finally spoke. "Please Izaya. Please don't take her back"

Izaya stopped and looked over at him, Shizuo wasn't looking at him, but he looked so defeated. "Shizu-chan. What else do you want me to do? You can't give me anything else about what happened yesterday, all the information fits. I-"

"Stall him"

Izaya frowned "I can't. I already told him I have his child"

"What about Satoshi? Maybe he can help?"

"I can't call him either"

"Why not? You know he'd help you in a heartbeat"

And wasn't that the truth. "That's not the problem. I can't call him because he's working. He's undercover right now, something about black markets or trafficking. He wouldn't give much on the details, he said he would have asked for my help, but he couldn't unless I agreed to work for him. We both know that's not going to happen. If I call him, I might blow his cover"

Shizuo frowned, he didn't know that. "Shit. Don't do that then, I guess"

"Do you remember anything else?"

Shizuo gripped his hair out of frustration. "I'm trying. There's something the woman said before she- but I can't remember what it was. It was in fucking Russian"

"Not anything? A word? A name?"

Shizuo looked up then "Yeah. A name. ah, but I can't even remember that…"

Izaya sympathised with him, Shizuo was really bad with names. Maybe, if he said a name that the man had given him…. "Was it Daijon Menton?"

Shizuo blinked, now that he would have remembered. "No. I might have remembered that. Sounds like a condiment"

Izaya chuckled great minds think alike he thought. He reeled off the other names, but Shizuo just shook his head. That was his last effort, if Shizuo couldn't remember any of what the woman said, then it left him no choice. Izaya sighed. "I have to go. I can't leave this any longer"

Shizuo clenched his fists, but he nodded. "Yeah…" he watched Izaya leave the kitchen, hoping beyond hope, that he really was wrong.

…..

Izaya walked down green street, baby in the basket dangling in his hand. He ignored the looks people gave him, who knew just what they were thinking, he imagined a lot of rumours were going to be heard tomorrow. Things like 'did you see Orihara? He had a baby with him' 'I didn't think gay couples were allowed adopt' Izaya snorted at his own thoughts, that sounded just about right. He turned off the street and spotted what he was looking for. The office building, in between a block of apartments, the man wasn't kidding when he said it was secluded, if he hadn't of told him that it was an office, Izaya wouldn't have glanced twice at it. He tilted his head to the side. "Make a left, and you'll see the entrance" he muttered to himself. "Some entrance" Izaya indeed turned left, yet all that was within that space was a door. Was this really his office? He had thought a big shot lawyer would be located somewhere a lot more, fancier. Izaya entered through the door, it was a lot bigger on the inside though. The floors were tiled and the walls wooden, a fountain stood in the middle and Izaya couldn't help but think just how cliché that really was.

"Are you Mr Orihara?"

Izaya was startled by the sudden voice, he looked to his left, realising there was a desk along the wall, a tall black-haired woman stood behind it, dressed in a black suit. "Yes?"

She smiled at him, but Izaya couldn't help but think it was forced. "Mr Korito Sato will be right down, he's expecting you"

Obviously placing the basket on the floor next to his feet, he pulled out his phone, wondering if the name the woman just mentioned had been the one Shizuo was trying to remember. :Korito Sato? xx: Shizuo was quick enough to reply

:Yes!: another message came through quickly after :xx:

Izaya was somewhat surprised, he hadn't really thought it would be, he then chuckled at the last message :I'm at the building now, waiting on this guy, the name mentioned turned out to be the father xx:

:Seems sketchy. Why would her last words be about the father of the child she kidnapped? xx:

Izaya rolled his eyes. :Famous last words Shizu-chan xx:

:Yeah. Except I didn't understand what she said xx:

:Have you thought about asking Tom-san? Maybe he remembers xx:

:Good idea! And be careful xx:

Izaya had intended that to be a joke. After all, it was a little too late now. He shook his head before sending a final reply. :I always am. Be back soon xx:

The elevator in front of him pinged and Izaya turned his full attention on it. His body tensed, but not because of the man he was suppose to meet, it was because of the man of whom Sato was with. Izaya's heart began beating fast. Shit, shit he tried not to give away that he knew who the other man was, judging by his surprise, he hadn't expected him to be here either.

"So sorry to keep you. where's my little girl!?" Sato smiled gleefully, Izaya snapped out of it, looking down at the baby in the basket. "I owe you so much!"

Izaya tried to contain his shook, even his fucking hands were shaking as he reached into the basket to retrieve the child. The baby fussed a little but began babbling away. He turned to the man, holding the baby close to him, trying his best not to look at the other one standing behind. "It's nothing. Really" Izaya hoped his voice didn't crack just then. He glanced around, the exit was behind him, so there was that. This whole situation just became completely unravelled; he'd been wrong right? So wrong…. Damn, he really wished he'd gotten Shizuo to come with him.

…..

Shizuo paced in the apartment, he was anxious, he was so fucking anxious. "Damn it! I should have gone with him"

…..

Izaya stared at Sato, the man was holding his arms up, ready to retrieve the baby. Izaya's heartbeat quickened again, what should he do? He still didn't know what was going on….what if the baby really was his regardless? Suddenly, the elevator pinged again, and two more men stepped out. Sato turned to them in anger. "I thought I told you to wait!?"

"Sorry sir, but he escaped…" one of them said

"What!? How!?"

"He got free of the ropes!"

"God damn it"

Izaya was too shocked to move. These men….he recognised these men. They're, they're the ones who were after Anri… Izaya swallowed the lump in his throat. If they recognised him now, he was screwed. He tried to hide his face, but realised it wouldn't do any good, no matter what, they'd know him instantly. He held the baby tighter.

"That's not the problem. I can't call him because he's working. He's undercover right now, something about black markets or trafficking. He wouldn't give much on the details, he said he would have asked for my help, but he couldn't unless I agreed to work for him. We both know that's not going to happen. If I call him, I might blow his cover"

Izaya's eyes widened then. Satoshi, black markets, trafficking….Anri, the woman…. He looked down at the baby, if the woman really was dead, then the next best one was- he thought he was going to throw up. He glanced back up at the men in front of him, daring a quick glance at Satoshi, but the man couldn't give himself away, Izaya wouldn't ask him to.

Sato smiled "I really don't know how to thank you" he held his arms out further, stepping closer. "You can give her to me now. Be rest assured, I know she's safe"

Izaya took one step back, he glanced at the men, why weren't they saying anything? Had they forgotten? Or maybe they just didn't want to admit that they screwed up because of him? "It's clear you're not a lawyer" oh god, why had he just asked that? This was no time for his games. He had a fricking baby in his arms.

Sato blinked and looked round, then he laughed "Oh that? Nah, we were talking about a game. I play games in my free time, it relaxes me. Right?" the men nod as an answer, but Izaya couldn't help but notice those glares were directed at him. "It's all right. I just want to see my daughter now"

Izaya took another step back, his eyes counting the men in front of him. Excluding Satoshi, there were four- Izaya then glanced toward the gap at the back, seemingly the staircase, he grimaced- make that six. Shit.

"Come on. Hand over my daughter"

Another step back. Izaya narrowed his eyes. "No" a sudden vibrate against his leg, told him he had a message. He was hardly in a position to answer it now.

Sato glared at him then, his smile disappearing, showing his true self. "Don't be stupid, just had her over, and leave"

Izaya held the baby close, would he be able to make a run for it? What if they had weapons? Weapons! He had a weapon! Izaya slowly reached inside his pocket as Sato got closer.

Satoshi's eyes widened, seemingly knowing what Izaya was reaching for, the informant couldn't be that risky? Didn't he think these guys might have guns? Satoshi knew they had, but Izaya…. He frowned, he wouldn't stand here and not do anything to help, no matter what he was suppose to be doing. He suddenly yelled. "It's a smoke bomb!"

Izaya stopped his movements, he looked at Satoshi, the man ran at him and all of a sudden, a can of some kind was dropped and the whole room was filled with smoke. Izaya clenched his eyes shut and took the opportunity to run back through the door. Once outside, he coughed considerably, his eyes watering a little, he looked down at the baby. She seemed fine, but she was starting to cry. He coughed again and took the first turn, had his sight been a hundred percent, he'd have realised that he had taken the wrong one.

Izaya stared at his surroundings, suddenly noticing that he wasn't already back on the street. He span around, when he heard voices behind him, he ran down the next turn and stopped behind the wall when he realised he couldn't run any further, it was a dead end.

Izaya could hear voices in the near distance behind him, shouting. He pressed himself closer behind the wall of the office building, there was a total of six men, Izaya was confident he could take them down if necessary, maybe. Or at the very least, he could cause enough distraction in order to lose them. However; Izaya looked down at the bundle in his arms, whatever he could have done was annulled by the small problem that lie safely tucked within his grasp. He furrowed his eyebrows, honestly, he hated it when Shizuo was right.