Chapter 1

That little flea Izaya hadn't been showing up lately and as calming as it was not seeing his smug mug around Ikebukuro it was also getting boring. Roaming street without a little target practice is getting dull. I'm nearing my limit of patience with that guy, if he doesn't show up soon I'm going to take a large object to his window and see if that gets him out here. I don't really believe he's holed up in his fancy little hideout, maybe he's finally gotten in over his head and somebody had offed him, although if that happened I would want it to be me that closed the little flea's eyes for the last time.

Of course before I get the chance to destroy his crib he came waltzing down the street right in front of me. I don't notice right away but there's something a little off about the way he's walking, maybe not so narcissistic or full of himself? I don't know, but I'm not really interested in that right now, I pick up the nearest large object, which happens to be a trashcan, and hurl it at him as hard as I can.

Instead of the usual reaction however Izaya screams bloody murder as the trashcan knocks him off his feet and starts crying. That's when I notice something else is wrong. He isn't wearing his tacky little jacket. He's stilling wearing black pants, V-neck T-shirt, and black shoes, but he has a black hoodie on instead of his fuzzy little jacket.

It's very strange.

Some random woman runs over to Izaya's side and starts comforting him. Delivering another shock almost worse than the one I'd received when Izaya had started crying. Seeing that woman hand Izaya some candy and having him take it and eat it and give that woman a sweet smile knocks me dead away.

Either the flea was drunk or this is some new game he thought of. Either way, I am getting to the bottom of this. I'm just about to stomp over there and demand to know what Izaya is playing at when I realized that's probably exactly what the little flea wants. As soon as I think that a very Izaya-like plan enters my head. If I stay in the background and follow him around maybe I can find out what, exactly, is going on here.

Izaya and the women talk for a while and then Izaya walks away, waving childishly. He walks away and I follow him. He wanders around town for a while, steals some food from some people eating at an outdoor restaurant while they aren't looking, steals some other stuff from other people while they aren't looking, and then as the sun begins to set he takes on a more direct path. We are just going down an ally when a small brown dog with floppy ears wanders across Izaya's path. I hold my breath waiting to see what will happen. Normal Izaya won't give an animal a second thought, but this Izaya instantly falls on his knees and starts petting the thing. He actually obsesses over it for a while. I'm on the verge of hurling a trashcan at him before he decides to stand up. And then what does he do but pick up the puppy and carry it with him giggling.

Now I really want to hurl a trashcan at him.

I want to say I'm surprised when Izaya starts skipping along, but really that's the first in character thing he's done all day. That's Izaya for you, pointing a knife at you one moment then prancing around the next, you just never know with him.

Take now, for instance, I've always known that Izaya 'loves' his beloved humans, but animals? I've never seen him as an animal person. Not with that fur coat anyway, but he's ditched that now and it makes him look like an entirely new person. The puppy isn't helping that image either.

I watch Izaya as he skips down a few more allies with his puppy then crawls into a large, cardboard, refrigerator box and curls up with his puppy.

That definitely throws me over the edge. Why would Izaya go here when he has his fancy apartment and his well-paid secretary? Is he staking someone out? Is he waiting for information? Is it some type of undercover mission? I honestly have no clue what to make of it, I'm positively stumped on this one. I'm not trying to say my opinion is the be-all end-all here, I'm more brawn then brains, but there is an answer here and if anyone has a chance of figuring it out I, Shizou Heiwajima, have as good a chance as anyone else.

The flea will not get away with this! Whatever…this…is…?

After I promise myself that, and resist the urge to throw another large object at the flea, it starts raining. Soon I'm soaked through, but I want to see where Izaya is going to go. Surely he won't stay in that box. But the more I wait, and watch him curl up in the driest place, farthest inside the mouth of the box, the more I realize that he's not going anywhere. Not home, not to someone else's house, he is staying here whether it rains or snows or whatever else might happen.

I am completely shocked and dumbfounded. What the heck is going on here? There just isn't an obvious solution.

A clap of thunder sounds and the flea flinches, shrinking farther into his box with wide, terrified eyes. What the heck? The flea…terrified? I don't get it.

Well, even if the flea feels like getting cooked I don't. I decide to go home. My nice warm, dry home, where the only strange thing is me. I can deal with that. I deal with it every day. But then, I thought I could deal with anything I Izaya could throw at me too, but I'm reconsidering that decision. Trust me.

When I get home I take a nice hot shower and try to forget what the heck I just saw, which I'm still trying to figure out. I eat dinner and go to bed as the thunder and lightning intensify and the storm gets worse.

The next morning I wake up, go to work, normal day honestly. On my way home I realize I'm passing by Izaya's box, I also realize that it's really close to my house. Maybe Izaya's spying on me. That's a creepy thought.

Well, checking something never hurt anyone. If he's still here I'll know he's finally tipped over the edge.

I press myself against the wall beside the ally and clear my throat. "Izaya?" I call roughly. Normally I would scream it at the top of my lungs, it's kind of my battle cry, but I don't want a repeat of yesterday so I tone it down a little.

"Izaya's not here," Izaya's voice drifts around the corner. He doesn't sound as self-assured as he usually does.

"Yeah?" I ask. "Then why do I hear his whiny little voice?"

"My voice is not whiny!" Izaya says, jumping out from behind the wall, switchblade drawn. He levels the blade at my chest.

"What where you point that thing, Orihara," I snap. "What the heck is wrong with you? I'm not in the mood for your games." Now that he is pointing a knife at me I can barely keep my rage in check.

"Then don't come after me anymore, Orihara," Izaya replies in the most threatening voice he can muster, which isn't very threatening. Then it registers that he called me Orihara, which is his last name.

"What are you talking about, flea?" I ask, this exchange is making me uncomfortable. I'm just itching to throw something or lite up a cigarette.

"You threw something at me yesterday so I guess you're back now to finish the job," Izaya says. "Just leave me alone, I don't want any trouble." Izaya sounds like he's having a hard time keeping back tears now. Which is very abnormal. Izaya doesn't cry.

"Stop messing around, Izaya!" I grab the front of his shirt and shove him against the wall, hoisting him high over my head so he can't knife me. Almost instantly needle-like teeth sink into my ankle. I turn around to see the puppy Izaya picked up yesterday biting into my ankle. I shove my arm into Izaya's gut, causing him to writhe around and squeal in pain. I kick the dog of my foot, flinging it against the wall under Izaya's dangling legs then turn back to deal with Izaya. Only to realize that blood is soaking out of his shirt and onto my arm.

I freeze and my eyes widen. Did I finally do it? Have I killed Izaya.

The rain drums down on both of us, diluting the wet stains. The bright pink ones on my white sleeve and the darker ones on his black clothes. I stare up at him in awe thinking I'd really killed him this time.

Then the flea chokes in my face, it's a raspy cough, but it's not the kind of sound a dead person makes either. It actually scares me enough that I accidently let him drop to the ground. He curls up in a ball and keeps coughing. My long-time adversary suddenly looks very pathetic and small. Have I really spent most of my life chasing this guy around? At the moment he doesn't look anymore then fifteen years old.

"What happened to you, Izaya?" I demand. I don't know if it's the rain or the shock but a shiver runs up my spine.

Izaya reaches out to the limp form of the puppy, shark toothed brute, and closes his eyes. "Is that my name?" he asks. "Is Izaya my name?"