The switch
Kadota was woken by a loud noise. A groan left him as he tried to open his eyes. His head was pounding. Raising a hand he ran it through his hair, his fingers stilling, eyes opening wide. "Please tell me I'm dreaming." Even as he said it, he could tell it wasn't his voice and his hair had never been this long.
A loud male squeal made him jump out of bed, glancing down at the swollen area on his chest. Running from the room he followed the squeal knowing only one person could make that sound. His mouth dropped open as he found himself staring at himself. "Dotachin! Isn't this great." Kadota could feel himself pale. "This is just like a manga."
Screw the dreaming, this was a nightmare. It looked like he had switched bodies and with Karisawa of all people. "This is a dream come true." Kadota groaned seeing how happy she was, holding out her arms and twirling. "Do you know what I could do?" Another squeal made him cover his ears. "Karisawa stop!" Rushing forward his face reddened as curiosity got the better of her, fingers pulling at the waistband.
"Dotachin no fair. You can look at my body." Shaking his head, his hand wrapped around her wrist rushing from the hospital. "This isn't happening." But it was. How was he going to keep this from Togusa or Yumasaki? Or better yet keep Karisawa and his body out of trouble? "Dotachin wait. Mikapon was with us." Hopefully nothing had happened to him. For now his priority was getting somewhere safe.
"Ow!" Mikado groaned, both hands gripping his head. Everything hurt. He remembered joining kadota in the van, running into Yagiri Pharmaceuticals, then there was a loud noise, the walls had started shaking, the ceiling caving in. Someone had shielded him, placing their body over his own. Throwing the cover's back his gaze widened. His hands weren't that big, his legs weren't that long. So it wasn't a dream. He was in a different body. Picking up the small mirror he smiled. And not just any body.
If he wasn't about to wake up then he was currently Shizuo Heiwajima fortissimo of Ikebukuro. So where was his body? He jumped as the door opened. "Shizuo. I was surprised that you were in hospital." The raven in the white coat continued talking. Who was he? "Usually you come straight to me, if my beloved hadn't seen Izaya. We wouldn't have known you were here." Mikado blinked. Who was this guy?
"As usual your indestructible body saved you. They had to pull you out from under the debris. The teenager you were protecting is safe as well." So it was Shizuo that had been protecting him. Although he didn't know the man, recognition hit him as the legendary black rider entered the room. "There you are my beloved." His eyes widened as Celty hit him. Even then the man twitched on the floor grinning happily.
Shizuo. Are you okay? Mikado felt slightly guilty as he nodded. He wasn't Shizuo he should admit that, yet his voice wouldn't work. It was a dream come true, no longer would his life be boring, he would be extraordinary. "Yeah, I'm fine. When can I leave?" The yellow cat helmet tilted. Shinra has double checked, you can leave now. Ah so that was his name.
The next question was what did he do now? He could go back his apartment and risk bumping into Shizuo or he could pretend he had memory loss and ask Celty. As it turned out he didn't have to do either. I can give you a lift home. Climbing out of bed, Mikado looked at the ripped uniform he was wearing. "Thanks." The man he now knew as Shinra stood up arms wrapping around Celty. "No fair my beloved, Shizuo stay away from her." He ended up on the floor.
Shizuo's legs were a lot longer than his so he made his way to the entrance quicker than he would've if he was in his own body. His excitement rose as he climbed onto the back of the bike. His arms wrapped around Celty's slim waist and then they were off, a helmet materializing around his head. This would be the start of his new life.
Climbing off the back of the bike Mikado glanced at the screen. If you need anything let me know. So the two of them were close. Nodding his head, he tried to figure out which apartment belonged to Shizuo. Celty had already gone, leaving everyone in her dust. Shaking his head he had no idea what to do now. If only he had a computer. There was no choice he would need to go back to his apartment.
Or not. Something vibrated in his pocket. Taking out Shizuo's phone confusion filled him looking at the caller ID. Who was Kasuka? Accepting the call he placed the phone to his ear. "Hello?" A monotone voice replied. Nii-san. I'll be back in Ikebukuro in a couple of days. Is there anything you want in the meantime? Again he smiled. "I need a laptop." There was silence on the other end. Okay, do you still live at the same address?
Kasuka told him his current address. "Yeah its still the same." He had been saved from being lost. Good. I'll see you in a few days, nii-san. With that the other end of the phone went dead. Placing the phone back in his pocket, Mikado went to the apartment right at the end. His fingers wrapped around the handle gently applying a bit of strength. His eyes widened, mouth dropping open as the handle came away in his hand with a crack, the door slamming back against the wall, where it fell from its hinges. "Incredible."
Putting the door back up, it jammed in the door frame, the handle now useless on the floor. He wasn't too sure what he was expecting, Ikebukuro was usually a mess when Izaya and Shizuo were around. So expensive furniture and perfectly smooth walls wasn't it. The apartment looked like it had barely been lived in. Looking around he found his way to the bedroom, it was the only room that was at least slightly messy, the covers not made, one of the pillows on the floor and a broken alarm clock.
"Fuck! My head!" Rolling over he grabbed at his head, curling into a ball. He should've known something would go wrong chasing the flea. Nearly ninety nine percent of everything was Izaya's fault. Luckily he had known what that woman was up to, he had even managed to protect a kid in the process. At least his strength had come in handy for something.
His eyes snapped open as he heard a whistle. "I don't think I've ever heard you swear." Standing by the bed was a teenage blond that he recognized. Kida. The girl with long raven hair he didn't know. "You got caught up in that bastard's plans again. I told you to stay away from him." He knew straight away who he was talking about. "Its fine, I can handle him."
Kida shook his head. "Izaya is dangerous Mikado. They said you were saved by Shizuo-san." Shizuo blinked in confusion. He was Shizuo. Who the hell was Mikado? Unless it hadn't been a dream. Next to him was a small mirror he had used the first time he had woken up. His mouth dropped open in shock. Instead of coffee eyes, bright blue eyes stared back at him, short raven hair falling over his forehead. "What the hell?"
The mirror fell to the floor, shattering into pieces. "Mikado-kun?" Ignoring both of them he glared at his small hands, before rushing from the room. There was no doubt that damn flea was to blame. "Woah, Mikado you haven't been discharged yet." Shizuo was pulled back with ease, so his strength was only limited to his body. Right now he was normal. "Uh Mikado. Why are you smiling?" Because he was happy, his dream had come.
But at what cost? The kid was probably stuck in his body. For him to be normal, someone else had to be cursed. It wasn't fair and Kasuka would never forgive him for doing something so cruel. "Where is Shizuo?" Both teens shrugged. "I think he left this morning. Kadota-san and Karisawa-san aren't in their beds either."
Wait. So those two were in that building as well? Had they switched bodies too? For now he had to contact himself so they could switch back. "Come on, we'll take you home." Before he could open his mouth, Kida was leading from the hospital, the girl following behind. It wasn't before he was standing in front of a run down apartment, the blond already unlocking the door.
The apartment was smaller than his own, a futon folded up in the corner on the mat, a small table in the centre. "I'll make the drinks." Sitting down he glanced around where the kid lived. "Are you okay?" Clenching his fist he nodded, even though no he wasn't alright, he hadn't wanted to come here, there was a phone in his pocket he could use to call his own.
Yet it didn't look like the pair would leave him alone. They really cared about the kid. "I'm fine, you two can leave." Kida gasped covering his mouth. "How can you say that. We waited by your bedside until you woke up, Anri-chan was especially worried." The teen winked at him. Great he was powerless to do anything.
Still it was nice, the apartment was still in one piece, the atmosphere calm, the two teens were smiling as they talked to him, instead of shaking with fear. Blowing on the hot drink he took a sip, not minding that it wasn't heaped with sugar. Maybe that was to do with his body too. That would mean he wouldn't need to smoke either.
At last it was time for the pair to leave and as he closed the door behind them, he actually missed their company. When was the last time he had felt like this? Even so things couldn't remain like this. Dropping down he let out a sigh staring at the phone in his hand. This was his chance to be a normal human. The kid was still in school, he could go back and do it all again, without his strength or Izaya.
His fingers dialled his number hesitating on the last digit. Was he really walking away from his dream? Closing his eyes he knew it wasn't right. He had lived with his strength his entire life, through the pain he had caused others, the broken bones. His body was now indestructible, difficult to damage, his strength barely controllable. How long before the kid found out how cursed he really was?
Pushing the call button he waited for the other end to pick up. Hello? It was weird hearing his own voice speak to him. "Kid, you have my body." There was a sigh on the other end. Heiwajima-san? Thank you for saving me last night. I'm not sure what happened. Neither was he. "We need to find a way to switch back." Before the teen was overwhelmed and did something stupid. Can't we leave it for while?
That he hadn't been expecting. "...You want to stay in my body?" He could hear the excitement down the phone. Yes, I want to know what it's like being you. My life is boring. Shizuo sighed, he had always wished he didn't have his strength. Haven't you ever wanted to be normal? Swallowing thickly he bit his lip. You can stay in my body as long as you like.
"...Okay." Why had he agreed? His own selfishness had taken over. "If it gets too much come and find me or talk to Celty, she listens to my problems, try and remain calm and watch out for Izaya." That should be everything. You too. Shizuo was left staring at the phone. What did that mean? Letting the phone drop, he threw himself against the mat, a smile on his face. He had been given permission to live as the kid. From now on he would start again.
"So they've all been discharged?" Izaya was sitting on Shinra's sofa gathering information. "Not entirely. Kadota-kun and the girl vanished this morning, Shizuo is at home and Mikado-kun was still asleep when we left. Why are you concerned?" Shrugging his shoulders he threw his hood up. It was time to leave. "Not concerned, I wanted information. I was the one after all that saved them."
"And why did you do that?" He only smirked leaving the apartment. The better question was why the protozoan had saved him. It was annoying that he didn't know. It didn't matter today he would let the fortissimo recover today, tomorrow everything would be back to normal, neither one of them holding back. With a sigh he made his way back to Shinjuku, without Namie around he actually had to do his own paperwork, still at least he didn't have to worry about finding rat poison in his coffee.
