Misery Loves Company

by Seasnake

Soulmate AU. Story I wrote for fun. Shizuo and OC relationship. My idea of what Shizuo's soulmate might look like.

Shizuo paced his small apartment in a rage. After not causing trouble for weeks Izaya, The Flea, the bane of Shizuo's existence, appeared out of nowhere and picked a fight in the middle of the city. The fight wasn't even to annoy Shizuo, it was to show off to his soulmate. Halfway through the fight a pretty woman started clapping and laughing. Izaya then spent the rest of the brawl being pointlessly showy for his girlfriend and boasting about how she was the best soulmate in the world. Shizuo didn't listen to most of it. Then the woman shouted something that sounded like English and skipped away. Shizuo planned to keep fighting but Izaya climbed the side of a building and ditched him without a second glance. Treating Shizuo like a freaking side-show performance to impress his woman.

The Flea had a soul mate! The fucking flea had a soul mate! Shizuo paced the floor of his small apartment. How the flying fuck did that bastard have a soul mate? And not just any soul mate, no, a slender, gorgeous young woman. He'd never seen Izaya drool over someone like that. The flea was so obviously in love with her it was sickening. Out of all mateless people in the world, what had that bastard Izaya ever done to deserve happiness? He'd found his perfect psychopath soul mate and now got to spend the rest of his days in bonded bliss? Just more proof that fate was unbelievably fucking cruel. Damn that flea and damn his tick of a soul mate. Let them be happy, if they ever stepped foot in Ikebukuro again he'd kill them both.

Shizuo didn't like to think about it often, but he did believe in the concept of soul mates. He believed in true love and that everyone had a person out there that was their perfect companion. Of course, he'd seen enough in his life to know that people constantly screwed up. Screw up enough and you would loose your chance at happiness with your soulmate. The idealistic and realistic parts of his brain began a well-worn argument.

"Everyone has a soul mate, even the flea. I have one too."

"Who would want a monster like me?"

"Wouldn't it be stranger if I were the only monster in the world?"

"So there is one other person like me in the whole world. I bet he or she is on the other side of the globe."

"That usually doesn't happen."

"People usually can't rip sign posts out of concrete."

Shizuo's cigarette had burned down to the filter. He shoved it into the overflowing ash tray and reached for another, only to find the box empty. Well, damn it, his chain smoking mood wasn't going to let up for another few hours so he had to go buy more. He stomped out of his apartment, slamming the door shut but not bothering to lock it. He had nothing worth stealing, anyway. His long suffering, and surprisingly tolerant, old land lord was sweeping the front stoop as Shizuo stormed out of the apartment building towards the corner convenience store.

The sun had set but this was the city and the lights kept it from ever being truly dark. A woman in a wheelchair was coming out of the door as Shizuo came in. He stepped to the side to let her pass without thinking about it. The cashier, a large woman in her fifties, recognized him the moment he came in. She reached for his cigarette brand of choice without prompting.

"Give me four packs," Shizuo got out his wallet.

"Sure, anything else?" the cashier asked briskly.

"Nah." A commotion outside distracted him from counting bills. A group of four or five ruffians were shouting and making a fuss. Then with a crash, Shizuo saw a wheel chair fall over and its occupant land on the sidewalk. Shizuo's blood boiled in a familiar way. In an instant he was outside. Without a word, he punched one of the punks in the side of the head and sent him flying. The other four froze with shock. Which made them easy targets. One of them tried to flee mid-beat down. He didn't get far, Shizuo kicked him hard in the side. The beaten boys shouted in alarm and stumbled away as fast as they could. Dumb asses dealt with, Shizuo turned to check on the paraplegic woman. She was in the process of righting her chair. With a clang the metal contraption landed back on its wheels.

"Are you hurt?"

"No," she said stiffly. She pulled a lever to engage the brake. She started to drag herself across the pavement to position herself in front of her chair.

"Um…" Was he just supposed to stand and watch her? It made him feel awkward. "Can I help?" he walked a little closer.

"Just give me your hand," she instructed. Shizuo complied and held out his hand as if he were helping anyone else off the sidewalk. She braced one hand on the arm of her wheelchair and reached out her other to grasp his. A strange feeling of pleasant pain shot up Shizuo's arm. He wanted to jerk away but his body didn't respond. For a second, his vision went white and the only thought in his head was "Cassidy Nakamura". What the hell did that even mean? He shook his head to clear it. His hand was still clasped with the woman's. She sat on the ground staring up at him.

"Heiwajima Shizuo, is that your name?" she broke the silence.

"Yes…" he said slowly. "Cassidy Nakamura?" he guessed.

"That's me," she nodded. Shizuo looked down at their linked hands. "Hello, I guess we're soul mates."

"…" Shizuo stood completely still in shock. Cassidy clearly didn't feel the same. She pulled on his arm to help lever herself into her chair with practiced ease.

"You can let go, now," Cassidy said once she was sitting in her chair. Shizuo quickly jerked his hand back and looked away.

"So…um, you're a foreigner?" it was all he could think of to say. She didn't look very Japanese and name was unfamiliar. She had light blond hair that didn't appear to be died. Her skin tone looked closer to a tan European than an Asian and her eyes were bright blue. She wore a short sleeved brown shirt and long gray pants that completely covered her thin legs.

"I'm half-English and half-Japanese. I've got duel citizen ship with the UK and Japan," she answered and disengaged the brake on her wheel chair. "Which would you prefer, giving a relationship with your soul mate a try only to be disappointed when it doesn't work out, or pretending that this never happened and living life without ever speaking to your soul mate again? You can choose, I don't care either way."

Shizuo looked down at her questionably. It took him a minute to register what she had just said. It was cynical, but probably not unrealistic. She sat and patiently waited for his answer.

"Let's get to know each other," he decided. He had gone too long thinking that he would never find a soul mate to just walk away now.

"Alright." Cassidy shrugged. "Want to come over to my place for a bit?"

"I need my smokes first."

"I'll wait."

The cashier at the convenience store didn't ask any questions and just sold him the cigarettes. Shizuo then followed the woman, Cassidy Nakamura, his soul mate, down the street a little ways to an apartment building in just as bad condition as the one he lived in. He lived within a few blocks to his soul mate? For how long? Cassidy wheeled up to one of the ground level doors and pulled a key out of her pants pocket. She went inside without waiting for Shizuo. He came in right behind her and glanced around. The place smelled like an ashtray. There was a futon against the far wall, a desk, a bulky old TV, a small kitchen, a few low shelves, and one door that lead to the bathroom. About what he had expected.

"Make yourself at home," Cassidy said off handedly as she wheeled into the kitchen. She took the convenience store bag off of the hook on her wheelchair and stored away the snack food in cupboards.

"How long have you lived here?" Shizuo asked. The apartment didn't have much in the way of way of decor. There were no decorations on the walls or knickknacks. Only one framed photo sat on the desk next to the computer. He couldn't make out the picture from where he stood. It looked a lot like his apartment, only cleaner and nothing on the floor or placed higher than waist level.

"About a year. Do you live nearby?" She was obviously wondering the same thing he was.

"Yeah, a few blocks from here."

"Ironic," the woman glanced over at him from the kitchen. He was still standing near the door. "Seriously, sit down. Don't make this awkward just because of my chair. I get enough of that shit from my parents. I'm 34 and they still send me a check every month." She grumbled and tossed the plastic bag into the trash. She noticed his look and mistook his meaning. "I pay the bills myself, I just use my parents' money for cigarettes and booze." She pulled open the refrigerator door to reveal shelves completely stocked with alcoholic beverages. "Want something?"

"No thanks." Shizuo did as she said and went over to one of the two pieces of furniture available for that purpose. He sat on the chair facing the TV which was right next to the couch that was also facing the TV.

"Suit yourself," Cassidy rummaged through her fridge.

"How old are you?" he wanted to make sure he had heard right. That's what his look had been about, not her getting money from her parents.

"34. You?"

"25," he mumbled.

"Well damn," she muttered in return. She pulled out two cans of beer and started to roll away from the fridge.

"I said I didn't want any," Shizuo growled.

"This is mine, get your own damn beer," Cassidy snapped sassily which instantly quelled the small embers growing in Shizuo's blood.

Cassidy wheeled herself towards the coach and Shizuo got out a cigarette. Considering the way the apartment smelled, his host wouldn't mind if he smoked and he could sure use a cigarette at the moment. Cassidy backed up to the coach and levered her body over. Shizuo watched as she preformed an awkward looking ritual of moving her lifeless legs around by hand and laying them out across the cushions so she could sit comfortably. She opened one of her beers with a hiss and took a swig. The silence was getting heavy again so Shizuo spoke up before this all went completely downhill.

"I'm Heiwajima Shizuo, I'm 25, grew up in Ikebukuro…I work as a debt collector…I have one younger brother…" he ran out of things to say and just took a drag from his cigarette.

"I'm Nakamura Cassidy, 34, I was born and raised in the English countryside, I spent the summers in Japan with my mother's parents, I moved to Ikebukuro less than two years ago, I'm an only child, I make a living as a Japanese to English translator and a writer," Cassidy returned then got out a cigarette and a stainless steel lighter. She flicked it open and cupped a hand around the end of her cigarette. "So, questions?"

"You first."

"Alright. Am I wrong in thinking that I've seen your name in some local tabloids?"

"No." He smoked his cigarette, waiting for the follow up questions. Cassidy just looked at him.

"Your turn."

"Hm," he grunted and sent a quick glance at her wheel chair. "When'd that happen?" He made a vague gesture at the chair and her legs.

"Almost five years ago," she said simply and turned around with her question, "How much can you bench press?"

"I don't know. How much does a truck weigh?"

"That depends on the truck. I won't count that as your question, continue." Shizuo breathed out smoke and tried to think of something to ask.

"What do you write?"

"Fiction mostly. Short stories, poems, anything that will come out of my head. My question…what do you do for fun?"

Shizuo had to think about that for a minute. "Spend time with people I know, I suppose. What do you do?"

"Rent movies, read, or get so plastered that I type gibberish to try and decipher in the morning. And I don't dislike translating. I think language is interesting." She took a long inhale of smoke. "Do you mind that I'm nine years older than you?"

"…No. Do you care?"

"It would only bother me if we end up as a romantic couple. Not that we will."

"Why not?" Shizuo asked without hesitation.

"I'm paralyzed Entirely from the waist down," she said bitterly. Cassidy didn't look at him and just chugged her beer. Shizuo paused for a moment as two thoughts occurred to him simultaneously. She couldn't have sex whatsoever and she didn't want to have sex because of her not because of him. He didn't know how to respond to either of those facts. His brain shorted out for a minute but Cassidy didn't seem offended by his silence. They sat, smoked, and drank in quiet for a few minutes.

"What do you want to do?" Cassidy finally asked.

"Try being friends," Shizuo suggested.

"I can live with that." The woman pulled a cell phone from her pocket. Shizuo did the same and they quickly exchanged numbers. He also told her his address when she asked. They then sat awkwardly together. Neither of them wanted to admit that their evenings consisted of sitting home alone watching TV for an indefinite amount of time before going to bed. Shizuo eventually broke the silence by saying he would head home and see her later.

Shizuo managed to get back to his apartment and close the door behind him before reality came crashing down. He had a soul mate. He actually had a soul mate. He had just met her. He felt the spark people talked about. His soul mate's name was Cassidy Nakamura. She was in a wheelchair. She only asked one question about his strength. She didn't seem afraid of him. She was actually his soul mate. His hand moved to open his cell phone of its own accord. He didn't think about any of the implications of what he was doing until after he hit the number stored in his phone's memory.

He leaned against his front door and listened to the phone ring. On the third ring Kasuka's familiar icy voice came over the receiver.

"Yes?"

"Um…hi Kasuka" Shizuo began awkwardly. How long had it been since they last spoke? Kasuka had probably been keeping tabs on him, Shizuo certainly read every tabloid in print for mention of his little brother. They didn't see each other very often but were still close. All through their childhood they had looked out for each other. "I found my soul mate."

"…"

"She's half-foreigner. She only moved to Japan two years ago."

"…"

"She's…uh, 34 years old. Her name's Nakamura."

"…"

"We talked for a little while and agreed to meet up later."

"Good."

"Yeah…"

"I'm not surprised."

"…thanks."

"Goodbye."

"Yeah, goodbye." Shizuo hung up with a sigh. His little brother was never a talkative person but Shizuo could recognize that he was happy for him. Yeah, Kasuka was right. This was a good thing.

The next day of work passed very quickly. Shizuo couldn't stop mauling over every scrap of information he had learned about his soul mate. Tom, Shizuo's friend and boss, commented on his spacing out but Shizuo's distraction kept him decently calm so it wasn't a negative comment. Shizuo didn't mention Cassidy. Tom would want to meet her if he did and he wanted to get to know Cassidy better before introducing her to his friends, especially Celty.

After what felt like an unusually short day, Tom gave Shizuo the okay to head home. Shizuo said goodbye but only walked a street over before pulling out his cell phone and calling Cassidy.

"Hello?" the woman answered on the first ring.

"It's Shizuo."

"Hi."

"I just got off work, where are you?"

"At my place translating a few websites."

"Do you want to…meet?" Exactly how did one ask a girl out?

"We can get dinner in an hour." Cassidy didn't seem to mind his slight fumbling.

"Alright. I can bring takeout to your place."

"Sounds good to me."

"Do you like sushi?"

"Bring me negitoromaki"

"I'll do that."

"Okay, see you in an hour."

"See you," he hung up feeling satisfied.

An hour and a trip to Russian Sushi later, Shizuo knocked on Cassidy's door. "Coming," she called. Shizuo had to wait a minute for her to reach the door and open it for him. She gave him a small smile when she saw him. Shizuo automatically returned the gesture. They went inside to her small home. "Good timing, I just finished." She headed to the couch. Shizuo went to the chair he sat in yesterday.

"Russian Sushi?" Cassidy read the bag.

"Yeah." Shizuo started to short through the take out bag.

"Never heard of it." She commented as she maneuvered herself onto the couch.

"It's good." Shizuo passed her her meal.

"So, how was your day?" Cassidy broke her chopsticks apart before asking.

"Fine. Almost everyone paid up."

"What kind of debtors do you go after? Gamblers, criminals?"

"Everyone. I work for a debt collection company."

"Effective. I bet your reputation helps with that." She noticed the look he gave her. "What? You can't blame me for web searching your name after last night."

"What about your day?" Shizuo asked in order to change the topic.

"Pretty good, I had enough work to keep me busy. That's always a plus."

"Translations?"

"Yep."

"You've been in your apartment all day?"

"Yep. Typing all day helps me forget that I can't feel my legs." Cassidy ate calmly. Shizuo paused mid-chew, unsure if this conversation was turning awkward or not. "I don't like going outside because everyone stares at me. I never used to get sympathy from anyone, not even my parents. Now it's very hard to be independent, that's the worst part. It's why I moved to Japan. To get away from all of the Help," she said the last word sarcastically. "And to prove that I could still live by myself." She ate a few bites then smiled over at Shizuo. "So, what's your deepest darkest secret?"

"I hate violence," he said right away. "But when it's hard for me to control my body when I get angry." Cassidy wore the same 'I wonder if this is getting awkward?' face that Shizuo had earlier. "I can barely feel pain anymore." He ran out of things to say so ate a bite of his dinner.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get this way?" Cassidy spoke up.

"It started when I was a kid. The doctors called it 'adrenaline power'. At first I broke every bone in my body but now I don't get hurt by anything."

"Tough by trial, I respect that," Cassidy said.

"…thanks," was he only way Shizuo could think of to reply.

They talked casually as they ate. Cassidy told him about some of the more interesting things she had translated and Shizuo shared a few mentions of debtors he had met. After they finished eating, and Cassidy had threw two beer cans into the recycling bin the woman climbed back into her chair.

"Let me get something." She rolled into the kitchen and looked through a drawer. "Here," she tossed a small item to Shizuo who caught it easily. He looked at the item in his hand and noticed it was a key. "My spare key."

"I can't take this."

"Sure you can. If you don't it will just sit in this drawer collecting dust," Cassidy pushed the drawer closed with finality. Shizuo stared at it a moment more then put it into his pocket. He'd offer her his key but his apartment was on the second floor.

Cassidy got another beer out of the fridge. "Don't look at me like that; I can hold liquor better than a 400 lb man." Shizuo hadn't intended to look at her in that way so he just glanced at the wall. Cassidy started to drink her beer. "Want to watch some TV?" "Let's go for a walk first," Shizuo said on impulse. "Uh…I mean…"

"It's fine," Cassidy waved her hand dismissively.

"I don't like being inside all the time. Come on," Shizuo stood. Cassidy took a chug of her beer and seemed to consider it for a moment.

"Alright." She returned her drink the fridge and wheeled towards the door. "But one rule. You aren't allowed to push me, my chair doesn't have handles for a reason."

"Okay," Shizuo waited for her to go outside. Unlike, him she locked the door as they left.

They headed down the street at Cassidy's slow pace. She moved slowly but she was clearly trying her hardest to move at a normal walking pace so Shizuo didn't say anything.

"We going anywhere specific?" Cassidy started a conversation.

"Just around."

"You have the place memorized."

"Pretty much."

"You grew up here?" Cassidy eyed the tall buildings.

"Yeah." Shizuo muttered.

"Ever considered living somewhere else?"

"No." He watched the evening crowds of people walking by. This was his home, he didn't want to leave. Not to mention he would rather have the respectful fear of the people who knew him then move to a new city and have to start over. "Why did you become a writer?"

"I've written in both English and Japanese since I was a kid. I just got back into it after my accident. When I came to Japan it was the obvious choice. After all, there are no face to face meetings required. In cyberspace I'm just like anyone else."

"You are like anyone else," Shizuo said immediately. Cassidy stopped and looked up at him with annoyance.

"I. Can't. Feel. Half. My. Body."

"Other than that, you're normal," he met her gaze. "You're not a monster."

"Hah, is that what you think you are?" Cassidy gave a bark of laughter and began rolling again.

"Hey!" Shizuo grabbed the back of her seat to yank her to face him. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean?" Cassidy returned, completely unperturbed. "You're a surprisingly normal guy."

"What?" Shizuo repeated.

"I said, other than the fact that you have the relative strength of an army ant, you're a pretty normal man. I always expected my soul mate to be a weirdo, a whacko military enthusiast or something. Of course, after my injury happened I figured my chances at ever meeting him were shot. Turns out I was completely wrong. You're decently sane and if I didn't get injured we would never have met," she said calmly. She then looked away from him casually and got a cigarette out of her pocket. "I've seen real monsters. Lots of them. Men eating other men like dogs. Shit no one's supposed to see. So, believe me when I say, that I can recognize a monster when I meet one." She flicked open her metal lighter and held it to the end of her cigarette. "And you Heiwajima- san, you're no monster. Not by a long shot."

"I could kill you," Shizuo said solemnly as his brain processed everything she had just said.

"With the proper weaponry, so could that guy over there," Cassidy nodded towards a random pedestrian. "Or him, or her. You're just a short-tempered young man with incredible strength and a strong sense of right and wrong, that's all. Monstrous strength doesn't make a man a monster. It doesn't work that way. The world would be a Hell of a lot simpler if it did." She breathed out smoke and gazed off to someplace far away that only she could see. Shizuo straightened his back and just stared down at her, dumbstruck. Cassidy smoked her cigarette and looked off into the distance.

"I think I'm going to head home now," she said after a minute.

"Okay," Shizuo watched her hold the cigarette between her teeth and wheel herself back down the street. Once she was out of sight, he continued towards the heart of the city to walk and think for a while longer.

When he eventually returned to his house, he still didn't know how to feel. Instead he took off his shirt and found a reflective metal bowl to use. He tried to avoid ceramics, instead buying metal or plastic kitchenware. It took a bit of maneuvering but he managed to get a blurry look at the mark on his back. It was bigger than he expected and covered a large portion of his mid back. It didn't appear to have any organized shape. It looked more like a bruise than anything else. He wasn't sure what that meant.

The next morning he only had one person to help Tom track down. It only took a few hours to find the scared man. He paid up quickly so work ended early. Bread earned, Shizuo headed over to Cassidy's. He figured he's stop by and ask her if she wanted to join him for lunch. He knocked on the door but got no reply. Perhaps she was out eating already. He decided to take a look inside, anyway. He used her spare key to open the door a creak. The lights were on and he noticed Cassidy sitting at her desk. She turned around when she heard the lock turn.

"Heeeyy, it's Shhh-izuo," she slurred. "Hiii, I'm pissed. Shhhouldn't uuuu be at work?" Shizuo didn't want to talk to a drunk. He was ready to close the door and walk away but her next words stopped him. "I saw the war again."

"What?" he asked.

"Waaaaarrrr," she slurred then repeated the word in English before continuing in Japanese. "People killin' eachother for no reason."

"What war?"

"I need…more whisky for that. Whisky not beer. Whisky, sake, and this," she held up a glass container. "Whatever this isss tis strong." She took a gulp from the bottle she held. Shizuo stepped into her apartment that now reeked of both cigarettes and alcohol. "Beer doesn't stop gunshots. This does."

"Don't ignore me," Shizuo walked over and took the bottle from her hand.

"Tat mine."

"It's noon," he snapped.

"War don't give a shit." She turned away from him and grabbed another half-drunken bottle to chug from.

"Shut up!" Shizuo snatched that away too. "What war?"

"One…two…three…four…five…ten…? Some many tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sand places."

"Tours?"

"Trips over." Shizuo put the bottles on the floor where she couldn't reach them. Cassidy fiddled with her fingers. "Lieutenant Cassidy Night, at your service Sir." The woman gave a sloppy salute to the wall. "Who do you want shot today? I'm the best damn shot in this whole company." Shizuo stared at her. "Company," she repeated and jabbed a wobbly finger at the framed picture on her desk. It showed a group of young men and women laughing and arguing over baseball bats. It looked like a candid shot of them picking teams. In the middle of the photo, playfully shoving a brown haired man, was a younger Cassidy. "The whole place is fucking hot. You don't know heat until you are runnin' through sand waste *hic* wasteland with fucking pounds of gear. Americans say 'no women in combat' I say 'fuck you, fuck you'." Cassidy flipped off her blank computer screen. "I kick the asses of half the men. I'm good at it."

"You fought in the Middle East?" Shizuo spoke up.

"Yeeeaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs." Cassidy started to fall over then quickly righted herself. "I was there a llllooonnnggg time. I went in to stick it to my parents. Didn't think I'd be so good at it." She tilted her head from side to side for emphasis.

"That's how you got hurt?"

"No. That's the llllaaaammmmeee part!" She suddenly looked excited. "Two days into my break and my taxi gets into a three car pile up. I was going back. I was going to make a career out of it. Doing something I was good at. I'm not even a war hero. I alllwwaaayyyss thought, 'you know, if I die doing…stuff I be okay with that'. Fighting the good fight and all that. But I don't even have that. I'm just a cripple. Just like every other cripple." She wagged her finger back and forth aimlessly. "I'm in Japan cause I no want that…that war benefit money for veterans stuff. That for people who got hurt in action, me nahhh…" Shizuo really didn't know what to say. Fortunately, Cassidy continued, "I need bbbboooozzzzeee." She shook the empty cans and bottles on her desk.

"You do not need more booze," Shizuo said with disgust.

"Yes…yes, I do need more booze," she nodded. "No booze means people."

"People?" he sounded incredulous.

"I got shot in arm, the nothing big. Sittin' in the med tent. Talkn' to the guy next to me. He's dying. Like…really… He shows me this picture of his family. He's got his soul mate, this pretty woman, and like three kids. We were in the same skirmish. He's dying and I'm fine. He's got three fucking kids and he's dying!" Cassidy started crying. "And I've got nobody. I came to war for no good reason. And I'm fine. He's dead!"

"Hey, it's not your fault," Shizuo put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know… but it fucking sucks." Cassidy sniffled. "I tried, you know. I really tried. I went out in front since then. I had nothing to l… *hic* loose. I no need to go home. People behind me did, so I made sure they were behind me. But they kept dying. And I was fine," she wailed. "It took a fucking car crash on civilian soil to finally kill me. Why the fuck am I here? I should be back there keeping them from dying! Only thing I'm good at and I can't even doooo it right!" Cassidy covered her face with her hands and gave shuddering sobs. Shizuo stood there and awkwardly held her shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me this when you were sober?" he asked, a little bitterly, when her cries quieted somewhat.

"'Cause you hate, violence right?" She looked up at him sad, teary eyes. "I've killed a lot of people," she said with wistful sadness. "I don't know how many. I don't know how many had families. I don't know how many… War's shit. We got the bad guys but they're not all bad. Some of them are just kids. I've killed kids. I'm good at it." Shizuo sighed. He supposed that he could understand being good at something you didn't like.

"Do you like war?" he had to know.

"Tis shit. You've got to fight for some things but war's just shit. I like the army, I like having family, I respect the need to fight for queen and country. But why do people have to die? I saw my friend's head explode. His, his…" she pointed to one of the people in her photo. "His brains dried on my uniform. They were brown. Not grey matter, brown matter. We wouldn't be able to take his body home to his siblings so I got his dog tags off of his… neck… I saw a kid run over by a truck. There was this bloody smear all over the front. I had to wash it off with a hose. And we needed to run him over, 'cause otherwise we'd get shot at."

"Stop that, I don't want to hear it," Shizuo's insides were twisting into knots.

"I didn't want to see it. But then why did I keep going back? Does that make sense?" She let her head fall back against her desk chair.

"Come on sleep it off. I don't like you drunk." Shizuo picked her up.

"Bitch! I no sleep!" she half-heartedly shouted.

"I'll come back when you're sober." Shizuo dropped her onto her futon.

"Okay. You take first watch. Report to me in three hours, Corporal," Cassidy muttered into her pillow. Shizuo left the apartment and locked the door behind him. He gave an irritated sigh and got out a much-needed cigarette. On top of everything else the past three days had thrown at him, now he needed to absorb this.

Shizuo didn't hear from Cassidy until the next morning. He chose not to call her or visit until that afternoon so that she would have a chance to sleep it off. He was walking around town with Tom when his phone rang. They were on their way to an address so he picked it up.

"Yeah?"

"Hi, Shizuo. I know that you're probably working but I wanted to apologize for yesterday. You shouldn't have had to see that," Cassidy sounded subdued.

"Do you usually get that drunk?" he was still a little spiteful. He did not want to be soul mates with an alcoholic.

"Only once or twice a month, when the memories get bad. Alcohol is the only way to quiet them. I know that's not an excuse. I would understand if you didn't want to see me anymore because of my drinking."

"Just don't do it when I'm around." He'd never been able to drink. With his strength and temper, he hadn't dared. And he didn't like people who used alcohol or any other drugs, it just seemed pathetic to him.

"I am sorry. I truly wasn't planning to keep my military background a secret. I just didn't want to mention it so early. I have trouble talking about it. My therapist back in England thought it was because I never got to go back and say goodbye or make peace with everyone and everything I lost. Or something like that. A lot of what she said was hokey."

Shizuo grunted then spoke, "you were a good soldier?"

"Everyone I ever met agreed that I was an excellent soldier.

"And you were good at killing people?"

Cassidy took a large intake of breath before answering, "very good."

"How did you kill people?"

"Every way you can think of and more. I ran people over in the streets with vehicles, I shot them, I killed a few with a knife, I planted bombs and booby traps, once a man knocked away my gun so I beat him to death with my fists."

"Did you ever enjoy it?"

"No."

"But you would go to war again?"

"In a heartbeat."

"…" Shizuo paused for a moment. Tom had noticed that he had stopped walking and looked at him questionably but he didn't pay him any mind. "Did you ever kill someone by accident?"

"No. When I shot to maim, I maimed."

"…" he didn't know what else to say. He didn't even know what to think.

"…have you?" Cassidy asked quietly.

"Once, indirectly. His injuries weren't fatal but there were complications during his operation at the hospital and…he died on the table."

"That must be a horrible feeling."

"Yeah. Same to you."

"Yeah, hence the booze." Shizuo sighed and some of the tension between his shoulders relaxed.

"Can I see you later?"

"Come over whenever you like." Good, things wouldn't be horrid.

"Thanks." He hung up, and only then noticed Tom's questioning expression.

"Everything okay?" That was one of the things Shizuo liked about Tom, he could approach a subject sensitively without spouting bull-crap like some people did.

"Yeah," Shizuo started walking again. Tom didn't pester him for more information, another thing Shizuo liked about the man.

It might have been Shizuo's imagination but it seemed that Tom let him off work a little early. Not that Shizuo was complaining. He figured he would head home and do laundry then head to Cassidy's place. Did he have enough loose change for laundry? That's when he spotted a familiar black coat in the crowd, damnit. Why didn't the flea ever listen to him? He'd make that stuck up bastard pay. He grabbed the nearest vending machine and chucked it towards his nemesis. Izaya was in the middle of talking with someone in a business suit but he still managed to dodge. Just barely, though. Shizuo would get him one of these days.

"Aren't you supposed to be working, Shizu-chan?" Izaya skipped into the middle of the street. The crowd of every day commuters wisely gave them space.

"I finished early today."

"Ah well," Izaya pulled a flick blade out of his pocket.

"Where's your soul mate, Izaya-kun?" Shizuo put his sunglasses in his pocket.

"I have no idea. I can't predict what she does," Izaya held up both hands in an exaggerated shrug.

"She'll just have to feel you die, then," Shizuo grasped a road sign and yanked it out of the concrete. Izaya smirked in response. He didn't move until Shizuo charged forward and swung the sign at him.

"You sound so jealous, Shizu-chan." He leaped over the attack. His foot landed on Shizuo's shoulder for a second as he jumped over his head. Shizuo spun around as quickly as he could but didn't make it before a ripping sound came from behind him. One of the information broker's knives had cleanly sliced open the back of his vest and shirt from the back of his neck to his pants. Izaya danced around the counter attack sent his way. The informant ran around to look at his back, obviously intending to mock him about his lack of a soul mark. Instead, the thin man paused when he caught sight of Shizuo's back.

Shizuo slowed in his single minded effort to kill his opponent when he heard Izaya start laughing. This wasn't just a chuckle, Izaya shook with full bodied laughter.

"Shizu-chan's got a soul mate?" Shizuo suddenly remembered the dark mark on his back. He quickly turned his front to the other man and instinctively placed a hand behind him to try and cover the telling mark. "Such an ugly mark, Shizu-chan. Your relationship must be ugly too." He knew the flea was just taunting him but his grip on the road sign tightened. "Is he a monster like you are? No? How many of his bones have you broken so far, Shizu-chan?" Izaya continued in a cheerful voice.

"Shut up, Flea." The metal crumpled in his grip.

"You better keep an eye on him, Shizu-chan. With a soul mate like you, he'll either turn to alcohol or a noose." Something snapped. Shizuo's vision narrowed down to a pinpoint surrounded by red. He might have screamed something as he charged at Izaya, if he did he didn't do so consciously. All he could focus on was trying to kill the bastard. Izaya ran and Shizuo chased after him, not even taking note of where they were going. Normally he was at least a little aware of nearby pedestrians. But when his mood got this heated, all else disappeared.

Shizuo sprinted as fast as he could. But Izaya's chuckling form just seemed to get farther and farther away. That's when the car hit him. The speeding vehicle knocked the legs out from under Shizuo and sent him tumbling over the hood of the small car to land on the pavement on the other side.

"You okay?" the car came to a screeching halt and the driver looked out the window behind him. Shizuo completely ignored the driver and just got to his feet. He was able to stand just fine so nothing was broken. He looked around but Izaya was long gone. Damn.

Shizuo was about to scream in frustration when his phone rang. Curious, he took it out of his pocket.

"Hello?" Who would be calling him at this time of day?

"Are you alright?" Cassidy's concerned voice came over the receiver.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"I felt pain over our connection. For me it was just a twinge but I'm worried."

"Right, sorry." He had completely forgotten about the soul bond.

"Don't apologize for my sake, just tell me if you're hurt or not."

"I'm fine. It's nothing serious," he repeated.

"Okay then. I'll see you later." Cassidy didn't question.

"Yeah," Shizuo hung up. Getting hit by the car had stung a little but not a lot. Was Cassidy going to feel pain even when he couldn't because of his past injuries? He hoped not, she'd end up feeling a lot if that happened.

That's when Shizuo remembered that he was standing in the middle of the street in a ruined shirt. He had lost all sense of embarrassment years ago but for some reason he didn't want the whole city to see his soul mark. He took a second to arrange his vest to cover it. His brother had given him these clothes and Izaya had ruined yet another one of his outfits. He held his vest closed over his mark as he trudged towards his apartment. Stupid flea. "With a soul mate like you, he'll either turn to alcohol or a noose." And that mocking gleeful face that he so wanted to smash in. Cassidy was a drinker before they met. They only met four days ago. She had gotten drunk in the middle of the day yesterday. But that didn't have anything to do with him. She drank to deal with stress. Having him around was stressful. Shizuo legs started moving faster. In a moment he broke out into a run.

He was calm enough to remember that this door was not his front door and he needed to unlock it rather than break it down. It took him a little while to fumble around in his pocket to get the damn key. And even more effort not to break the lock as he turned the key in it. Eventually, he got the stupid thing open.

"Hey," Cassidy called in calm greeting from where she sat at her desk. Shizuo ignored her. He had a goal that needed to be completed first. He marched up to her refrigerator and found a grip on the sides. It was by far not the heaviest thing he had ever lifted this way but he didn't want to tilt it the wrong angle and dump everything out so it was an awkward load. "What the Hell are you doing?" Cassidy turned around. Shizuo ignored her and the power cord as it ripped out of the wall. He carried his load to the door. He easily maneuvered it out the front entrance then tossed it across the street. It landed on the opposite sidewalk with a crash that made passerby's stop and stare. Alcohol and ice started to leak out of the crumpled refrigerator which made one balding, middle-aged passerby inch a little bit closer.

Task completed, Shizuo finally looked at Cassidy. She sat at her desk very calmly for just having witnessed her fist display of his superhuman strength.

"What happened?" she asked. Shizuo grunted and got out a cigarette. "Shizuo, what happened?" she repeated with concern.

"Nothing," he said dismissively and took a breath of calming smoke.

"…" they were silent for a few seconds. "Come here." She held out her hand. He didn't move. "Come Here. I can't go to you so you have to come to me." Shizuo finally moved from his spot just outside her door. He shut the front door behind him. Cassidy didn't hurry him along and just patiently held out her hand palm-up towards him. He purposely took his time to walk across the room and take her offered hand in his. "What's wrong?" she sounded concerned but not accusatory, curious but not judgmental.

"You need to stop drinking. I don't want you to turn into a drunk," he admitted.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you're stuck with me!" Wasn't that obvious? He glanced away from her but didn't take his hand out of her grip.

Cassidy let out a small sigh. "Three things. First, if I didn't like you, I would damn well say so. Second, who the fuck gave you that idea? And third, I am not afraid of you, not one bit." Shizuo stared down at her disbelievingly Cassidy gave him a small smile. "I've only known you four days but I can tell that you aren't going to kill me. And the idea that you might do so accidentally is no more frightening then crossing the street."

"But…" Shizuo started to speak but Cassidy cut him off.

"Stop it. If there's a monster in this room, it's me, the one who gets an adrenaline rush out of killing people." She squeezed his hand a little tighter.

They both stood completely still for a minute. Neither one of them knew what to say or do. Shizuo finally broke the ice. He acted on instinct, just like he often did, and dropped down to his knees. Cassidy looked surprised as he pulled her in for a hug. The angle was only slightly awkward with her sitting. He held her around her torso and buried his face in her neck. The hug didn't have to mean anything, he just needed human contact. And judging by the way Cassidy wrapped her arms around him, she needed some too. When was the last time Shizuo had hugged someone? He honestly couldn't remember. His parents were good people but they had tiptoed around their super strong, temperamental son and Kasuka had never been a huggy person.

Cassidy leaned her head against his. "Something the army taught me. Emotion in the battlefield is a weakness. But once the dust settles, it's okay to cry. As long as you're ready for the next fight, a break down doesn't make you any less of a soldier." There was no way to respond to that so they returned to listening to their shared breathing.

"Hold me as tight as you want, it won't hurt," Shizuo offered after a second. Her arms around his shoulders tightened like a vice. He clenched his fists in the fabric of he loose t-shirt and made sure not to crush her in his arms. The pressure on his shoulders became impressive, still no where near painful but Cassidy was much stronger than he had expected.

An immeasurable amount of time later, they broke apart. Shizuo sat back on his heels and Cassidy rearranged herself in her chair.

"Alright," she got out a cigarette of her own. "I'll limit my drinking, since it bothers you."

"I don't want to be controlling," Shizuo picked up his discarded cigarette from the floor and snuffed it out in Cassidy's ash tray.

"I'm not going to stop drinking. I just won't get pissed. Nothing beyond buzzed. But," she snapped her lighter closed for emphasis. "If the voices come for me I have to quiet them somehow. So, whenever I call you, no matter the time of day, you have to come over. We'll watch some TV and talk until the mood passes, fair?"

"Sure," Shizuo didn't hate the sound of that so he agreed. He stood up but Cassidy continued talking.

"Now, what happened to your shirt?" Shizuo considered not telling her but she had just agreed to stop drinking so she deserved some trust.

"Just the flea."

"Who?"

"Izaya-kun. We've been trying to kill each other since high school."

"Oh, one of those career ass-holes."

"Yeah," Shizuo couldn't help but grin at her assessment.

"Well, if he or any other ass-hole does something to get you down, feel free to tell me. I won't judge."

"Alright, if I call you, you better answer."

"I'll try my damnedest. Now, be a dear bring my fridge back?" Cassidy grinned. Shizuo nodded and went outside to check on the appliance.

Cassidy's fridge was banged up but still mostly functioned. Shizuo dumped all of the remaining alcohol out and left only the sandwich makings. He also helped her plug the refrigerator back into the wall. Cassidy then suggested that they hang out in his apartment for a change. Shizuo needed to change clothes anyway so he agreed. He lived on the second floor of a building with no elevator but Cassidy didn't mind him carrying her up the stairs while she sat in her wheel chair.

His apartment wasn't much different than Cassidy's but it felt good to show it to her anyway. Shizuo grabbed a new shirt from his dresser and changed in the bathroom while Cassidy made herself comfortable and turned on the TV. They didn't talk much the rest of the afternoon. They just channel flipped and commented on the shows. When dinner came around, Shizuo convinced her to eat out. He carried her back down the stairs and then they walked and rolled to a fast food joint near their neighbor hood. They ate there, stopped for groceries on the way back, then said goodnight.

"I found my soul mate," Shizuo announced to Tom the next morning. It was Saturday but they always worked slightly irregular hours depending on who needed to be tracked down. Tom looked predictably surprised for a moment then smiled.

"Congratulations. What's she like? When'd you meet?"

"I met her five days ago. She's half-foreigner. She's okay," he wasn't sure how to describe her.

"Is she like you?"

"No. But we get along fine."

"Well, I'm happy for you. Have you told any one else? I'm sure Shinra would love to meet her."

"I bet he would. I'll tell him later." Shizuo started walking to indicate that he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

They only had one person to shake down that morning. The man ended up being an irritating weasel so Shizuo lost his temper and ended up breaking several of his ribs. Tom dismissed Shizuo for the day and stayed with the man to take him to the hospital. Shizuo was heading to get lunch when he bumped into Celty. The dullahan was standing in an alley with her bike.

"Working?" Shizuo went over to her. Celty got out her cell phone and typed out her answer.

"Just waiting for my employer to pick this up." Shizuo read from her screen.

"I'll wait with you." Shizuo leaned against the nearest brick wall.

"How have you been?" Celty held up her phone.

"Well…I found my soul mate five days ago."

Celty visibly reacted and quickly typed, "!"

"Yeah," Shizuo smiled at her reaction.

"That's wonderful!" Celty showed him briefly then quickly typed another message. "Tell me more!"

"Her name's Nakamura Cassidy. She's half-foreigner. She's 34. She works as a translator," Celty was Shizuo's best friend so he told her details.

"Is she nice?" Celty asked.

"I guess," Shizuo shrugged.

"I'm so happy for you!" Celty typed out. She had no face but almost looked like she was smiling.

"Thanks."

"Fairies don't have soul mates. I think it is a nice ability, even when it doesn't work out."

"What are you carrying?" Shizuo instantly changed the topic.

Shizuo didn't get to talk to Celty very long before his phone rang. He turned away from Celty to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, sorry, but the voices are starting. I need either booze or company or they'll get louder. If you're busy I'll just buy a drink, I promise I won't…"

"I'm coming," Shizuo cut her off and then hung up before she could respond. "I've got to go," he said off handedly to Celty as he started to walk away. She just nodded, not at all offended.

Shizuo walked at a normal pace to Cassidy's apartment. He let himself in and found her sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hi," she smiled at him. Just seeing someone happy to see him made Shizuo smile as well.

"I was going to come over anyway."

"Good to know that I'm not imposing. Take a seat," she motioned to the other end of the couch. Shizuo took the offered seat. They were sharing a couch instead of sitting on different furniture but it didn't feel awkward.

Nor did it feel awkward for the next several days. They spent every evening together either watching TV or walking around. It was nice to just enjoy each other's company so they didn't worry about anything else.

Nine days since Shizuo met his soul mate, and Shinra cornered Shizuo and started blabbing his ear off. Celty said, this and Celty said that. Why didn't Shizuo tell him? He was so happy for him, after all not everyone got to fall in love at age four like he did. He wanted to meet her. They should go on a double date. Celty would love to have more female friends. Shizuo eventually agreed to bring Cassidy over to Shinra and Celty's apartment later in the afternoon to shut up the cheerful doctor. Shinra may be annoying but the chatterbox had followed Shizuo around since grade school, talking all the way, and refusing to give up on being his friend. Shizuo didn't ever say it out loud but he was thankful for his persistence.

Fortunately, Cassidy was more than happy to visit his friends. Her exact words were "I've got absolutely nothing else to do." They locked up Cassidy's apartment and headed through the afternoon city crowd towards Shinra's building.

"So, what are these two like?" Cassidy asked as she rolled next to Shizuo.

"Strange," Shizuo answered immediately. "They're dating. Shinra stitches people up when they get shot. Celty delivers things. Celty doesn't talk. Shinra talks too much."

"They sound perfect for each other," Cassidy said jokingly.

"I guess." He glanced around aimlessly. He didn't believe it at first, but more people did stare when he was out with Cassidy than those who stared when he was alone. "Do you believe in fairies?"

"As in small people with wings?"

"Sort of…"

"Eh, sure why not. I've seen worse shit." Cassidy shrugged then noticed where Shizuo was heading. "Where are you going?"

"The subway."

"I can't get down those escalators," she eyed the narrow entrance to the underground network. "And I don't have a card."

"No one will stop me," Shizuo said simply then bent down.

"Shizuo!" She shouted at him as he easily lifted her up. She tried not to flail around too much as he maneuvered her onto one shoulder. It took virtually no effort on his part to hold her in a sitting position on his shoulder. Cassidy felt wobbly and wrapped both arms around his head to steady himself, she didn't cover his eyes so he didn't mind. With his free hand he folded her chair in half and carried it under his left arm. "Nice view from up here," Cassidy laughed to herself.

Shizuo headed down the subway. Everyone moved out of his way and, if possible, stared even harder than usual. Like promised, nobody asked Shizuo to pay for his trip. "Nice, my soul mate is young, strong, invulnerable, super tall, and gets to use public transport for free. I officially have no complaints." Shizuo didn't suppress the small snort of laughter her words caused. It was a short train ride to the stop near Shinra's apartment. They didn't have anything else to talk about and just went above ground in companionable silence.

The moment they were clear of the escalators, Shizuo arranged her chair and gave her back her mobility. He couldn't know what it was like for Cassidy to be unable to walk, but he had spent a month in a wheelchair after cracking his spine as a kid so he at least knew that it sucked. The last thing he would do would be to deprive the independent woman of her freedom. The look Cassidy briefly gave him as he set her down in her chair, said that she understood that and appreciated it greatly.

From the station it didn't take long to reach the right apartment building. Usually Shizuo took the stairs but now he rode in the elevator with Cassidy. He knocked on Shinra's door as Cassidy wheeled up behind him.

"Hi!" Shinra opened the door enthusiastically. Celty stood not far from the door, obviously eager to greet the guests as well.

"Hey," Shizuo said blandly and stepped inside. He stood out of the way and held the door open so Cassidy could come in unobstructed.

"Hello," Cassidy gave a pleasant greeting as she wheeled through the doorway. Shinra had obviously been looking higher then immediately shifted his gaze lower. Never one to conceal this emotions, the surprise was evident on his face.

"You're paraplegic," was the first thing out of his mouth.

"Really?!" She looked down at her legs. "Wow, look at that. I hadn't noticed, thank goodness you mentioned it," Cassidy said with fake cheerfulness and enthusiasm.

"Uh…" Shinra immediately realized he had said something wrong. He glanced to Shizuo who was giving him a death glare. "Sorry! Please forgive me," he quickly bowed to both Cassidy and Shizuo.

Celty stepped forward and gave her boyfriend a quick punch to the gut for good measure. She then typed out a quick messaged on her phone and held it for Cassidy to see.

"Sorry about that, his manners are horrible. My name is Celty Sturleston. Nice to meet you," Cassidy read out loud. She smiled and held out her hand to shake. "Nakamura Cassidy. Pleasure to meet you, as well." Celty happily shook the woman's hand.

"I'm really sorry," Shinra tried to rejoin the conversation again. "Sometimes words just come out of my mouth…"

"Shut up," Shizuo grumbled.

They all got inside Shinra's and Celty's medium-sized apartment without further incident. Shinra scampered to get beverages as the others sat down in the living area. Cassidy took a minute to maneuver herself onto the couch and then push her chair out of the way. Shizuo joined her on the sofa without thinking about it. Celty sat in a nearby chair then leaned over to show Cassidy her phone screen.

"How'd we meet?" Cassidy read. "Coincidence. We've actually lived in the same neighborhood for almost a year."

"I hear that happens a lot," Celty typed as an answer.

"There's a whole field of science dedicated to studying soul mates and the statistic defying odds of finding each other," Shinra added as he brought over a drink for Shizuo. "Tea?" he meekly asked Cassidy.

"Thanks," she accepted the peace offering. "Shizuo tells me you've known each other for a while?"

"Since we were kids, I thought his strength was fascinating," Shinra nodded.

"He's been following me around since then," Shizuo muttered into his cup.

"Shizuo is a good friend," Celty held out her screen.

"Hm," Cassidy hummed and took a sip of her tea.

"Is it true that people feel a spark when they touch? I've always wondered," Celty

asked.

"Yeah," Shizuo answered.

"More of a jolt," Cassidy said. "It made my vision spot over, hearing gone, complete numbness for two or three seconds. You?" She turned to Shizuo.

"Yeah, and I heard your name."

"I more of saw it spelled out than heard it."

"Wow," Shinra sounded fascinated.

"Did you hear Nakamura Cassidy, Cassidy Nakamura, or Cassidy Night?" she asked another question of Shizuo.

"Cassidy Nakamura, your given name first. Like they do in Europe," he was proud he knew that factoid.

"Odd, it gave you my Japanese name but in an English context."

"You changed your surname from Night to Nakamura when you moved to Japan?" Shinra checked.

"Yep. By choice. I've actually got a duel citizenship."

"Where are you from?" Celty wanted to know.

"England."

"What's it like there?" She typed out a new question

"Tons of the houses and landmarks there are decades to centuries old. That's a big difference from here where everything is new and modern. My family home is almost a hundred and fifty years old. In the cities there are lots of CCTV cameras. And of course the government loves their health and safety regulations," Cassidy smiled at some joke that the others didn't get. "It's very green. Everyone gardens because anything you plant there grows. It rains all the time and when it's not raining its foggy. Berry bushes just grow on the side of the road, you can pull over and eat fresh blackberries. I like the food here better, though. Traditional English food involves a lot of boiled vegetables. Although I do miss Marmite," she continued wistfully.

"Marmite?" Shizuo repeated.

"It's a spread, like a bitter jam."

They spent most of their visit discussing food. Then they talked a little bit about their careers. Shinra couldn't share much because most of his clients were criminals, most of Celty's deliveries were either illegal or sensitive in nature, Shizuo didn't care very much about his job, and Cassidy insisted most of her work was boring. When Celty insisted, she recited a few poems that she had written. They were an interesting mix of Japanese and English and played off the two languages artistically. Celty was the only one fluent in English enough to fully understand the poems but Shizuo still found them beautiful, not that he said that out loud.

"She's interesting," Shinra whispered to Shizuo while the two women were in a discussion about languages and poetry.

"I guess." Shinra didn't even know about her military background. Of course, it wasn't Shizuo's place to tell people that.

"I never thought you would be soul mates with a solider."

"What?!" Shizuo grabbed the front of Shira's shirt. "How the hell did you know that?"

"She, she has a tattoo," the doctor stuttered. Shizuo dropped him and looked over at Cassidy. The two women were eyeing their fighting men but he ignored that. Shinra was right, there was a dark mark on her right arm, half hidden by her short sleeved shirt. He stomped over and yanked up her sleeve to get a good look at it.

"Yeah, that's my tattoo. My army mates and I got drunk once and all got matching ink," she explained, completely unfazed by his grabbiness.

"How'd you see that?" Shizuo snapped at Shinra. What he really meant was, 'how did I not see it?'

"I don't like showing it off. But I felt comfortable having it visible today. You know more about my history than anyone else in Japan."

"Hm," Shizuo let go of her shirt with only a grunt. Cassidy understood what he meant and turned back to Celty.

It wasn't until the end of their visit that they readdressed the issue. "I didn't really think about my tattoo," Cassidy said once the elevator closed. "I'll let you be the only one to see this though." She bent down to touch her leg.

"You don't have to."

"Shut up and accept my emotional sharing." She propped her heal on the lip of her seat and lifted her pant leg. Her shin was sickeningly thin and covered in hair and a few scars. On her leg though was more ink. Columns of English characters were printed on her flesh. "I got this after my accident. The name of everyone I served with. Most of them are dead now. With this, I'll never forget the names of anyone I owe my life to and anyone I failed to save. One of my few and far between coping mechanisms."

"Why'd you tell me that?" Shizuo mumbled.

"I just met your coping mechanisms so it seemed fair." Cassidy smiled and carelessly dropped her leg down. Shizuo gave her a quizzical look. "Shizuo, those friends of yours are the reason you're not drunk in the middle of the day."

"Humph. Stop lecturing me, it makes you sound like an old lady." Cassidy leaned her head back and laughed.

"That's what I am, boy."

They came to the escalators again. Cassidy held out her arms for him this time. "Hold me lower, I had to keep ducking for the ceilings." Shizuo picked her up in kind of a one armed bridal stile. She held onto his neck as he carried her and her chair down into the subway. There is actually an open seat so Shizuo took it without thinking. Cassidy rests on his lap without complaint. It didn't feel awkward until a teenager across the isle sent them a haughty look. "Eww, old people. Get a room," he muttered at them with a sneer. Shizuo frowned and his blood started to heat up but Cassidy acted first. She instantly flipped the youngster off.

"Jealous, punk?" she teased back with a calm, deadly edge. The kid then proved to be not completely dumb as he realized that the two people he was mocking were both bigger bad-asses than he could ever hope to be and turned to look out the window.

The rest of their subway ride went undisturbed. Disaster didn't strike until they were on the sidewalk heading back towards their neighborhood. They headed down the street together in companionable silence when, Shizuo heard the most annoying noise in existence.

"Shizy-chan!"

"Shizuo?" Cassidy noticed when he stiffened. He growled and swiveled his head looking for the perpetrator. "Shizuo, calm down." She reached for his arm but he jerked away.

"Hi, Shizu," Izaya appeared less than fifty feet further down the sidewalk. "Sorry, it took me so long to come and finish our chat but Chie dragged me to Hong Kong. What can you do, right?" He gave a large shrug.

"Shizuo." Shizuo barely heard her and barely felt her take hold of his sleeve.

"Less than a month and you already broke her back? Not a good way to start off a relationship, Shizu." Shizuo's angry glared intensified, and mixed with a hurt expression he tried to smother. Cassidy kept hold of her soul mate but also turned to shoot eye daggers at the thin man.

"Well, you certainly are a little bitch. Trying to prove your manhood by picking a fight?" This time her words got Shizuo's attention. He glanced down at her with mild awe; he couldn't remember the last time someone jumped to his defense like that.

"Oh, I get it," Izaya exclaimed far too gleefully. "She's the human to your monster and the brain to your brawn. And you can't hit her because she's a cripple. Brilliant."

"Bastard!" Shizuo charged forward with his hand raised to punch Izaya in the head. The information broker easily ducked the strike with a huge smirk plastered on his face.

"Shizuo!" Cassidy called after him.

"Does the cripple put out or are you doomed to forever be a virgin?"

"Shut up!" Shizuo ripped a street sign from the concrete and swung it at Izaya.

"Shizuo!" Cassidy yelled again.

"Your tamer calls, beast," Izaya grinned as he leapt out of range.

"Shut up, Cassidy, I'm going to kill this flea! Don't try to stop me." Shizuo growled without looking away from his enemy.

"Then narrow your stance!"

"What?" Shizuo paused.

"Put. Your. Feet. Closer together! Stop telegraphing your movements!" Cassidy hollered from her chair. Both men shifted to stare at her. "What?" She said indignantly. Izaya started to chuckle.

"The monster is the submissive one?"

"What the flying fuck is your problem?!" Cassidy turned the full force of her rage on Izaya. Not as overwhelming as Shizuo's boiling anger, and much, much colder.

"Your soulmate is trying to kill me with a road sign and you want to know what's wrong with me?" Izaya laughed.

"You hate Shizuo because he's different?"

"Different?" Izaya leapt around Shizuo and ducked the man's attempt to grab him. "I love humans." The dark haired man stood in front of Cassidy's chair and leaned down to look at her. Cassidy met his dark, amused gaze without hesitation. "Shizy-chan is the only one I want to hate because he's not even close to human. He's a dumb beast, everyone knows that, even him." The woman's icy glare dropped to subzero temperatures at his words. Her fingers turned white as she clutched her armrests.

"I don't know the Japanese word for this, so excuse my English," she growled. "You are a psychopath."

"You're adorable." Izaya's lips quirked upwards.

"Iz-ay-a! Get away from her." Shizuo had been busy ripping a steel guard rail from the road while they talked. He held the heavy weapon over his head menacingly.

Izaya turned is back to Cassidy. He laughed quietly at Shizuo as he purposely blocked his view of his soul mate. "You never learn, Shizy." He retrieved a switch blade from his coat pocket and flicked it open. Cassidy quickly leaned over to see where Shizuo was standing and check the positions of any bystanders then she stuck a hand into the fold of her seat. A pop reverberated through the street. Izaya let out a surprised shrill yelp that Shizuo had never heard him make before and stumbled two feet forward. The informant pressed his empty hand to his belly and it came away red. With a grunt he dropped to his knees on the sidewalk and pressed both hands against his abdomen.

"Don't even twitch. I don't care how fast you are, you will never dodge my shot at this range, especially with a gut wound." Cassidy ordered in an even tone. She held a black pistol in both hands aimed at Izaya's skull. The man glanced over his shoulder with honest shock, pain, and rage. Shizuo blinked as he tried to register what had just happened. She pulled out a gun and shot him. She just shot his archenemy. "Shizuo," Cassidy's strong, sure, voice snapped him out of his reserve. "Your call, live or die?" She didn't glance away from Izaya or waver her hold on her weapon.

Shizuo stood still to process what was going on. But before he could finish, a shout got everyone's attention.

"Yoohoo!" A singsong call came from the other side of the road. Chie stood there grinning like a Cheshire cat in a blue flowing skirt. She held a whimpering toddler against her chest with a bowie knife pressed lightly against the skin of his throat. A hysterical woman that looked like the boy's mother stood several feet away crying. "Trade?"

"You…" Shizuo's blood boiled anew and he turned towards the woman.

"Ahah," she reprimanded. "You won't make it over here before I sever this kids Cortaid artery. And not even an Olympic caliber marksman could accurately shoot me without hitting this boy. So let's just trade prisoners of war, okay solider lady?" Without even glancing at Cassidy, Shizuo could sense her irritation at having no other choice. Killing Izaya wasn't worth an innocent bystander. Shizuo lowered his makeshift bludgeon at the same time Cassidy slightly lowered her weapon. "Run, Izy." Chie chimed. Izaya's smirk returned as he shakily got to his feet. He limped down the street and disappeared into an alleyway. Shizuo watched him go, in case he needed to chase after him. Chie waited and backed up a few paces. Cassidy aimed her pistol at her now that Izaya was gone. Chie flashed both her and Shizuo a final smile. "Watch your back solider bitch, I hold grudges." Then she dropped the kid to the concrete and ducked around the corner of a building.

Shizuo contemplated for a nanosecond who to run after. Faster than words he felt the urging from Cassidy to head after Chie, that Izaya had too big of a head start despite being injured. He didn't hesitate to drop the metal he held and bolt across the street. He ran past the worried mother comforting her toddler and around the corner where he had last seen her. The alleyway was empty. He scanned the roofs but saw no sign of Chie. Well, she was officially just as much of a menace as Izaya. With a growl he gave up and trudged back towards Cassidy. A soothing mix of shared disappointment and acceptance washed into Shizuo's mind like a wave. Only then did he realize that those emotions didn't belong to him. It was on odd sensation.

He stopped in the middle of the street, cars knew to avoid him, and stared at Cassidy for a second. The adrenaline from the fight was wearing off for both of them and the foreign emotions quieted to a whisper as the excitement did. Cassidy returned his stare for a moment as Shizuo puzzled through everything that had just transpired. Cassidy must have caught a whiff of his confusion because she broke her side of the gaze.

"I know guns are illegal in Japan, they were in England too. But ever since I lost my legs I'm only comfortable when I'm armed. I didn't mention it because you hate violence and the guns are a secret, hence the silencer and the hiding place." She clicked the safety into place and then slid her weapon back into the folds of her chair. She looked back to him but he hadn't moved. "What ever you're thinking about stop it. You're one of the most human people I've ever met. Those two insane killers are the real monsters of Ikebukuro," she said with complete conviction.

Shizuo took her advice and stopped thinking. Only a few big strides he reached Cassidy. He grabbed either side of her chair and lifted her to eye level so that he could kiss her on the mouth. Cassidy didn't have time to fully recognize the shift in gravity or his lips on hers before he pulled away again.

"…What was that?"

"My first kiss," Shizuo said in a purposefully annoyed tone of voice in order to cover his embarrassment. Cassidy gave him a gentle smile.

"Come here." She held his face and turned his neck to look at her. "I know you can't trust yourself, so trust me. There is nothing wrong with you, Shizuo, nothing that matters." Cassidy gave him a sweet chaste kiss then pressed their foreheads together. "Okay?"

"Okay," Shizuo repeated not bothering to try and hide his embarrassment anymore. They stood there for a minute, completely heedless of the staring city dwellers around them. "Can I say that I love you, without implying that I want to have sex?" He muttered without opening his eyes to look at her.

"Yes, you can say that."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Another moment of silence then Cassidy shifted and leaned up to kiss him on the forehead. Shizuo finally opened his eyes again. But one glance at her face and he blushed and looked away. "This is a good thing," Cassidy grinned. "Now we can pool our funds and afford a slightly less crappy apartment."

"What?" Shizuo didn't quite follow the abrupt subject change.

"If we live together you can get me out of the habit of drinking any kind of booze. I'll even let you carry me around inside if you want."

"... You want to live with me?"

"Also, I want to meet your brother and boast about you to my parents," Cassidy continued with a friendly, teasing smile. Shizuo blinked at her once then returned the expression when she didn't disappear or change her mind.

"Kasuka will like you."