It's been a while! :D Did you guys miss me? Haha~ Since you last saw me, I've been tackling homework and working on this secret Santa for the livejournal Shizaya community. There should be a Birds update after next week, but we'll see. My semester research paper is due next Monday, and then I've got finals. BUT! I got into my target college~! ^u^ So I'll be moving to New York City next fall! ...er. Anyway.
Disclaimer: Still don't own DRRR!. Alas.
Izaya had been having a rather pleasant evening. He had left his house early in order to spend the majority of his day with one of his favorite subjects, and after a long day of gathering information, the student had contented himself to lay out on his employer's posh sofa while he read. The young informant couldn't imagine a better way to spend his evening, and he was glad that he was finally getting a chance to relax.
However, he had been waiting for something to burst his peaceful bubble, so he wasn't at all surprised when his employer spoke.
"Izaya, what day is it?" a gruff voice asked from across the room.
Turning his head towards the older man who sat at a large desk, dressed in a nice white suit despite the fact that there was no one else around, Izaya smirked mischievously.
"What's this~? Is Shiki getting so old that he can't even remember what day it is?" the teen mocked, his tone just playful enough to keep his employer from getting angry.
Shiki didn't respond, instead continuing to pour over the documents he had received only half an hour ago. But just because he chose not to play Izaya's game didn't mean he wasn't paying any attention to the boy. Izaya's smirk fell a little as Shiki continued to keep his gaze downcast, as though Izaya weren't in the room at all. A quiet Shiki was much scarier than an angry one.
"…Today's the fourteenth," the young informant replied grudgingly, hating the way Shiki's silence made him so uneasy.
The yakuza finally looked up at him, his dark gaze unimpressed.
"I'm aware," the man remarked, and Izaya scowled.
"Eh? What sort of game is this, Shiki, really…" and then – seeing that the man wasn't about to yield to his childish complaining – "Saturday."
"And what time is it, Izaya?" Shiki continued, and Izaya rolled his eyes.
"Six. And before you ask, it's about two degrees Celsius outside with a slight chance of snow for the evening," replied Izaya with as much sarcasm as he could muster.
Which was a lot.
"Also, tomorrow is Sunday."
Shiki didn't deign the boy's insolence with a response, instead continuing on as though Izaya hadn't spoken.
"Being a teenager, don't you think you should be out doing something other than sitting around a boring office on your Saturday nights?" questioned Shiki, raising one of his eyebrows at the high schooler on his sofa.
Izaya blinked at him in confusion for a moment, surprised by Shiki's sudden interest in his social life. He understood that the yakuza didn't actually care what he did, that he only wanted Izaya out of his way, but it was entertaining to the young informant nevertheless.
"No, I don't," he sighed, "It's boring out there, where humans my age are controlled by nothing more than their hormones and emotions, free to act as wildly as they want. There's no fun in predictable chaos. But in here, I get to watch adults manipulate one another, forced to always hide their true intentions behind a mask and confined by the expectations of the complex society around them~"
He chuckled to himself, the feminine laugh growing in volume as Shiki reacted by merely showing Izaya the very same stone-faced expression he had just been referring to. No matter what sort of emotions Shiki was feeling as he was irritated by the brat before him, he'd never give them away.
Not that someone as intelligent as Izaya was unable to figure out how the yakuza was feeling, of course.
"You know I can only stand your company for so long, Izaya," Shiki began calmly, causing Izaya's smirk to grow in snarkiness, "I am not your babysitter. Besides, interacting with kids your age might make you a little less abnormal."
Izaya would never admit that the comment hurt a little, but he hid the effect Shiki's words had on him well, setting his book aside and resting his chin between his palms as he regarded his employer with amusement.
"So cruel! You might make me cry," the teenage boy said sadly, though the cheerful look on his face contradicted his words, "It's alright, though~ I know you're only trying to get rid of me because you have an important meeting in an hour, and you don't want me listening in. You really love having me around, am I right, Shiki~?"
"How anyone could love your obnoxious presence is beyond me. And whether or not I have a meeting has nothing to do with the fact that you should go socialize with the commoners," said Shiki sarcastically, smirking at the way Izaya sulked.
"What do you expect me to do? There's nothing going on in the city right now that could interest me more than this office."
Finally setting down the sheet he had been attempting to read in frustration, Shiki leaned back in his large, leather chair and sighed.
"I heard there was a new club in Ikebukuro called Blue Moon. It's only been open for about a month. Why don't you call up some of your friends and go check it out? Surely even someone as weird as you could find something to enjoy there, Izaya," the older man suggested.
The teenager hesitated for a fraction of a second, his smirk becoming a little forced.
"You do have friends, right?" Shiki laughed harshly, and Izaya felt himself blush in both embarrassment and anger, hands tensing beside him on the sofa cushion.
How dare his employer imply that he didn't have any companions! Who wouldn't want to be his friend? What with his good looks and charming personality, Izaya was surprised he didn't have a posse by now.
"Of course I have friends!" snapped the boy.
Grinning at his young employee's loss of face, Shiki shrugged his shoulders and picked his papers back up, leaning against his desk so that he could rest his chin on the back of one of his palms.
"Go have fun then, Izaya."
Izaya got to his feet, hands clenching and unclenching as he forced himself to regain control of himself. So Shiki was challenging him to go socialize and have a good time? For Orihara Izaya, it would be no problem at all!
"I will~" chuckled Izaya, heading for the door leading to the "exciting" world of Ikebukuro nightlife as he held a hand up over his shoulder to wave at his employer, "And I'll be sure to get all of the juicy details about your super secret meeting later, Shiki!"
The brunet closed the door just as Shiki's eyebrow twitched in irritation at the reminder that even if Izaya weren't present for the evening, he would find out exactly what Shiki didn't want him to know anyway.
Hell, and maybe the yakuza was right and Izaya would even get an exciting night out of it.
Izaya smirked to himself as he pulled his phone from his pocket, quickly dialing Shinra's number. The phone only rang twice before the loud, cheerful voice of Izaya's classmate answered him.
"Oooh~ What's this? Izaya is calling me! Surely that means something interesting is going to happen," tittered Shinra, and the young informant could hear the mischievous grin in his friend's voice.
"Eh? It's nothing too exciting, Shinra. I'm sorry to disappoint you," Izaya giggled in reply as he tapped one of his fingers idly against the side of his phone, "I was just wondering – since I have nothing better to do this evening – if you and Dotachin would like to go to Blue Moon with me."
There was an unexpected moment of silence as Shinra hesitated on the other line, and Izaya grinned impishly at all of the various things that hesitance could imply. There was something wrong with the brunet's simple request, and Izaya was going to find out what it was.
"A-are you sure you want to go to Blue Moon? I mean, it didn't open too long ago, so it's really not as established as a lot of the other clubs around that area… I think it'd be much more fun to go to-"
"No, no~ Blue Moon's fine. Besides, its being new gives us all the more reason to go check it out, right?" insisted Izaya sweetly, and he could practically hear Shinra's internal conflict. Oh, Izaya loved nothing more than when one of his humans was trapped in indecision; anything could happen, and whatever did was entirely due to that single decision.
"I guess you're right…" Shinra agreed, but there was a nervousness beneath his cheerful tone.
What could be at that club that was making Shinra so wary? It was a mystery that Izaya would just have to unravel for himself.
"I guess I am," giggled the informant, "You call Dotachin, and I'll meet you two in front of the club in half an hour."
"Alright. We'll see you there, Izaya!" the other boy said, hanging up quickly so that he could call up Kadota.
Izaya pocketed his phone and set off down the hallway of the floor he was on towards the elevator, a bounce in his step as he hummed to himself.
Shiki's meeting forgotten almost completely, Izaya was much more interested in discovering what sort of secret Blue Moon harbored that could make Shinra so anxious. Perhaps it would turn out to be an exciting night on the town after all!
Izaya would admit that he was a little disappointed when, upon his coming up to the club, he saw that Shinra and Dotachin were already there waiting for him. A few minutes to check out the location for himself and possibly discover the source of Shinra's unease would have been nice, but Izaya supposed that his friends' presence would only make things more of a challenge.
"Hey there, Shinra, Dotachin~" greeted Izaya as he approached the two, grinning with as much innocent excitement as he could.
His grin faltered just slightly when he reflected on how the two had failed to invite Shizuo on their little outing. Perhaps Shinra and Kadota thought it was better that Shizuo didn't go anywhere Izaya was, but the young informant knew that the night would be just that less exciting without his favorite, impossibly strong monster.
Nothing made Izaya's day more fun than goading that mindless brute into an attack.
"Heya, Izaya. It's nice to see you out for a change," Shinra laughed (fortunately not noticing Izaya's lapse in enthusiasm) while Kadota merely nodded his head in acknowledgment at the smaller brunet.
"Oh, don't act like I'm never out and about," Izaya scolded.
"You know what I meant. Out doing something normal," the doctor-in-training amended with a smirk snarky enough to be worthy of Izaya.
"Shinra, you're the last person who should be telling me which hobbies are normal and which are not~!" Izaya chuckled, waving one of his hands at the other boy in mock offense.
"Okay, so you're both weird," Kadota muttered in exasperation, his shoulders hunching back as he leaned his head against the side of the club, "Can we go in now? Please?"
That very same tenseness that had been in Shinra's voice on the phone earlier now flickered across his pale eyes, but it was gone almost as soon as Izaya noticed it. Intriguing.
"That's a wonderful idea, Dotachin! Why stand around outside when so many adventures await us within?" Izaya giggled as he grabbed Kadota's arm tightly and raced inside of the club, ignoring the horrified expression on Shinra's face.
"E-eh? Don't leave me behind!" called Shinra.
Izaya hardly heard him, his eyes widening in barely-contained glee as the sights and sounds of the club overwhelmed him, rolling over him in heavily synthesized, neon colored, alcohol scented waves.
Maybe everyone here was just a lowly teenager controlled by his or her respective genitalia, but Izaya could tell there was plenty of havoc for him to wreak.
All he had to do was find the proper target.
Finding the proper target to harass was not going as expected. Izaya had tried to wander away from his friends multiple times, but each time he was dragged back by Shinra who then attempted to subtly distract Izaya with something else.
Of course the young informant had noticed this, and it only made him more eager to discover what it was that Shinra knew about Blue Moon that he didn't.
But despite his previous excitement, Izaya couldn't quite remember what he had hoped to find as he lifted his fifth, sixth, maybe even seventh drink to his lips. Had there been someone he was looking for…? No, that wasn't it…
The teenager scowled as the alcohol hit his tongue, and the very small, sober part of his mind told him that he should probably stop drinking unless he wanted to do something he regretted. But the rest of Izaya's brain was already clouded in an alcohol-induced haze, so he shrugged and downed the rest of the drink.
"Izaya," spoke a low, concerned voice at his shoulder, and the informant turned around to see Kadota staring at the row of empty glasses before his friend.
"Don't you think you should stop?" he asked.
Before Izaya could respond, his friend was helping him from the barstool, holding onto his wrist tightly as Izaya wobbled unsteadily on his feet.
"Nooo," whined Izaya, "Then Shinra'll make me dance with another stupid girl from our school, and I don't want to, Dotachiiin!"
Kadota frowned at the inebriated brunet, confused.
"Why would he do that?"
"Because he won't let me go explore the club for myself," the smaller of the two pouted, "He was weird about us coming here, and now it's like he's afraid I'll see something I'm not supposed to…"
Kadota was a little surprised at Izaya's ability to speak in coherent sentences after the amount of alcohol he had consumed, but he didn't comment on it; this was Izaya after all.
"I don't think that's why–" Kadota started uncertainly, but he didn't get to finish his sentence, for Izaya's bright eyes had widened with realization.
"Oh my god, Dotachin~!" Izaya suddenly exclaimed, pulling Kadota forward as he turned around quickly to sweep his gaze over the large crowd filling the dance floor, "I've got it! This must be some kind of meeting place for powerful yakuza to discuss their drug deals," – at Kadota's perplexed silence, Izaya elaborated – "He must be afraid of us running into them or something. Well, that's too bad for him, because it was only a matter of time before the brilliant Orihara Izaya figured out this club's secret~"
And then, before Kadota could even think of stopping Izaya or saying something to crush his ridiculous idea, the brunet had pulled his wrist from Kadota's grip with surprising force and darted off into the mass of teenagers on the dance floor.
Izaya, dressed completely in dark red and black, was lost under the pulsing lights as Kadota tried to figure out what direction the other boy had even run off in.
Unbeknownst to Izaya, Kadota knew exactly why Shinra was so intent on keeping him close by. If Izaya were left on his own, he'd probably run right into…
Shit. Kadota had to find Shinra.
By the time Izaya had finally made it through the mass of grinding teenagers, slowed down by having to escape the insistent clutches of several females (and males) who dragged him back to "dance", he couldn't quite remember what he had been in such a hurry to discover.
"Heh… hehheh…"
Resting one of his hands against the nearest wall for support, it was all Izaya could do not to stumble to the floor as a fit of laughter overtook him. The nearest group of dancing teens gave him a fearful look before edging away from him, but the brunet took no notice.
"So even I can make stupid mistakes like this," he chuckled to himself, wiping a stray tear from his eye, "How human of me!"
As much as he enjoyed finally being able to understand the complexities of the self-loathing felt by his dearly beloved humans when they had only themselves to blame for a mistake, Izaya knew that he couldn't slip up again.
He was just sober enough to know that he was drunk and that – for someone like him – that was a very, very bad thing.
His fingers pinched tightly at the bridge of his nose in an attempt to still his reeling mind. First thing was first, Izaya had to meet up with Shinra and Kadota before he did anything else stupid because, intoxicated as he was, it was highly likely that he'd do or, even worse, say something he shouldn't.
But before Izaya could even move away from the wall he had come to lean his forehead against, the music ringing out loudly from the speakers changed to some irritating, cliché club music with a heavy bass line. It was as though someone were hitting the informant's skull with a hammer again and again, and he was not pleased.
Maybe it was because he hadn't been drunk earlier, but Izaya was pretty sure that the music hadn't been bad when he and his friends had first entered. In fact, he recalled thinking that the DJ's music selection had been rather unique, choosing to play songs that were genuinely good rather than songs that simply had a dance beat.
It didn't really matter to Izaya how the music had been, though. All he could think of right now was the terrible sound coming from the speakers and how badly it was hurting his already impaired mind.
Thoughts of finding his friends forgotten, Izaya pushed himself off of the wall, wobbling slightly as gravity seemed to pull him every which way, and headed off towards the back of the club to go speak with this terrible DJ.
Gaze flitting from his CDs, the DJ blinked with surprise to see a kid staring at him angrily. Nobody ever came to the very back of the club to speak with him, due to his being hidden behind a black partition completely out of sight. This kid must have some serious issue with his music selection to have come looking for him.
"Can I help you with something?" the man asked curtly.
The boy's eerily red eyes narrowed as he smirked, and the DJ shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He was nervous, and the boy knew it, which only caused him to feel more uneasy under the small brunet's amused observation.
"You're not the one who was working before," said the boy. He had been drinking; the way he took a careful pause between each word was a dead giveaway.
"No, I'm not. The other guy's on his break right now."
Rather than responding to this new bit of information, the boy cocked his head to the side as he walked a little ungracefully over to the large table before the DJ.
"It's a good thing you're just the back up, because your taste in music is embarrassing. I thought this place was at least high-end enough to afford a decent DJ, but I guess I was wrong…" said the boy thoughtfully as he rifled through the CDs on the table, holding each up slightly before grimacing and setting it back down.
Fists clenching at his sides, the older man forced himself to breathe deeply through his nose and count to ten before responding to the brat. Drunk or not, that was no excuse for this kid to be an asshole!
"Excuse me, but I've been at this for-"
"Your terrible song selection aside, where can I find this 'other guy' right now?" the boy interrupted, smirking in such a way that both made the DJ want to smack the look off of his face and made him too afraid to strike out at the brunet. Even if this kid were sober, the man had a feeling he'd be just as blunt and creepy.
So in order to get rid of the increasingly unwelcome presence, he replied:
"He's probably smoking in the bathroom," – and then, bringing his hand up to gesture vaguely towards a door a few feet away – "If you go out that door and continue down the hallway, you'll run right into it."
The boy stared dazedly towards the aforementioned door, his face tense as he appeared to be thinking hard about something. As some sort of realization came over him, a small, knowing grin tugged at the corners of his lips. He raised his hand in farewell to the DJ as he sprinted very unevenly away.
"Thanks so much~! You've been a big help!" giggled the boy.
And the DJ couldn't help but feel that he had just been insulted somehow.
Izaya crept down the hallway, his heart beating quickly in his chest while his thoughts became more coherent than they had been all evening. As he grew nearer to the bathroom door, the smell of smoke grew stronger, causing him to wrinkle his nose in disgust.
Smoking really was an absolutely vile habit. If it weren't for the smell, Izaya wouldn't have minded so much; he had a sensitive nose, and he'd be thrilled if his lovely humans could understand that.
This particular cigarette smoke, however, was eerily familiar, and the brunet paused just outside of the bathroom door, uncertain. In his drunken state, it took Izaya a moment to realize why he knew this scent so well.
He had spent so many hours alone with this exact same smoke filling his lungs. Well, not quite alone; his friends had always been just around the corner of the wall Izaya would crouch behind on the roof of Raijin. He had never dared to walk over to the other side, because to do so would mean silencing the calm, deep voice that would reply to Shinra or Kadota, snuffing out the smoke of those cigarettes Izaya was becoming attached to.
In a school of almost three thousand students, the only one whose attention Izaya wanted was the only one he couldn't have. But his hopes of befriending the young monster of Ikebukuro were foolish, and he knew it. The only way he could ever get close to Shizuo now was during their fights.
Their fights were never enough, though, and Izaya always found himself wanting more after one of their violent squabbles…
"I'll prove to you how absurd the very notion is!" declared Izaya, bringing his foot up and kicking the bathroom door open with an unnecessary slam. Hehheh, it was more something that the very blond who had just been on his mind would do…
Don't worry... there's porn in part two 8D; I just had to split this into two parts. It was waaay too long to post as one chunk!
