# Chapter 2 #

**Chapter 2**

*Right after getting dressed and ready to go, Shizuo and his employer went out to their work: debt-collector and his body guard.*

*However, Shizuo can't seem to leave the idea that something is or will go wrong.*

Passing through the streets of Ikebukuro Shizuo and Tom walked side by side.

Every once in a while, someone would stop on their way just to comment the fact that there was a man dressed in bartender clothes walking by.

Although Shizuo was already somewhat used to that kind of reactions and treatment, the fact that people would actually stop themselves just to look, was still annoying.

Going from place to place, they weren't even noticed among the crowd that walked on the downtown of Ikebukuro.

That day, the two man did their jobs thoroughly, collecting Money from the ones who owed it.

Shizuo was distracted, so the day went by softly, except for the fact that from time to time some random man would fly a good 5 feet above solid ground.

Several debts repaid later, Tom decided to take a risk and actually ask his kouhai about the reason behind his distraction, hoping that he would not unleash the beast.

''Shizuo, I think that maybe we should call it a day.''

Spaced out, Shizuo didn't even notice his Senpai calling out to him. Noting that the blond wasn't listening Tanaka Tom tried again, this time speaking loudly while taping his shoulder.

''Shizuo, are you listening? Earth to Shizuo.''

Finally riped from his line of thought Shizuo answers the dread locks haired man a little confused.

''Tom-san... I'm sorry, I wasn't listening... what were we talking about?''

''I noticed that. We weren't talking about anything in particular.I just said that it would be better If you went home... get some sleep.''

''I'm sorry Tom-san, I can stay 'till the end of the da-''

''I don't want to hear excuses. As your Senpai I worry about you. You yourself admitted that you had a rough night so the best thing for you to do now is to go home and have some sleep.''

''But the day isn't over yet, and about the night I've recovered from it already. It's just that I can't take something out of my mind...''

Suddenly realizing that there really was something wrong about Shizuo, Tom asked teasingly...

''Oh... I bet it's a girl~.''

Almost instantly, Shizuo blushed at the thought. And had an ultimate desire to laught out loudly as he imagined Izaya as a girl, only to return to his normal self finally letting go the thought that there was something wicked going on that day.

Still a bit blushed Shizuo tried giving his Senpai an answer that made some kind of sense without letting him understand the source of his distraction.

''Tom-san, you're wrong... it's not that...''

''Oh, really~?"

''Yes, really. I've never even had a girlfriend so...''

Shizuo lowered his head embarrassed at the thought that he was, most likely, the only guy of his age with his good looks that never had a girlfriend.

''I know that. I've been with you for too many years to think that you would be this thoughtful over a girl''

Relieved that his Senpai was only teasing him, Shizuo felt like laughing again, because it would be normal for a 24 years old man to be thinking about a girl and not about his *male* arch-nemesis.

''Do you want to talk about it?"

''Huh?"

''I asked If you wanted to talk about it. Something is obviously bothering you.''

''It's okay. I mean...it's nothing, probably...''

''Anyways, I'm here if you need to talk. And I still think you should go home.''

Giving up on trying to explain himself to the smaller man, Shizuo finally decided to accept the offer and go home.

Thanking his Senpai before turning his back to him, Shizuo started to walk his way home, drowning in his thoughts once again.

Shizuo arrived home a good 20 minutes later and whispered a sad *I'm home* to no-one in particular as he got inside his apartment.

He changed from the bartender clothes Kasuka had given him, placing them carefully on a chair in the living room, into something more comfortable; he opened his fridge and drank his milk making it his dinner since he wasn't hungry. He got into bed, and 10 minutes later was fast asleep.

The next day there was going to be a festival in Ikebukuro so Tom had told him that there was no reason for them to go to work nor tomorrow nor the day after, and that they should enjoy the festivities once in a while.

Shizuo woke up the next day feeling sluggish. He got out of bed, drank his milk, washed his teeth, changed into his usual clothes and sunglasses, and went out for a walk through his beloved Ikebukuro.

Sitting on a park bench Shizuo took out of his shirt pocket a package of cigarettes, grabbed one, and put the package back on the pocket.

As he smoked, he leaned back on the warm wooden bench and enjoyed the quiet breeze that ruffled his bleached blond hair, he closed his eyes for some time, feeling sleepy at the sound of the wind that agitated the tree branches causing the leaves to flow with the soft tide. Feeling like all his worries would be washed, and taken away with the wind, Shizuo kept day-dreaming for a while, until, he heard voices approaching. There were 3 teenagers passing by. The blond was about to fall on his thoughts once more when he heard a familiar name.

Teen 1 '' Have you heard the news?! They say Orihara Izaya went missing!"

Teen 2 '' OMG! *the* Orihara Izaya went missing?!"

Teen 3" Who is he?"

Teen 2" OMG. You don't know?! Orihara Izaya is like the biggest and most famous information broker of this area!"

Teen 3" Then, wouldn't it be normal for him to disappear? After all there must be a lot of people that don't like him.''

Teen 1" You don't get it. Do you know Heiwajima Shizuo?"

Teen 3" Yes. People say he's the strongest man on Ikebukuro.''

Teen 2" Well, that's just it! Rumors are that Izaya can take Shizuo in an one-on-one fight!"

Teen 1" Well, not really an *one-on-one* fight because he just keeps running away and throwing knives at him''

Teen 3" Wow! Then, you're right. It is strange for a guy like him to just suddenly go missing. Do you know anything else?"

Teen 1" Well...''

At this the three teenagers, two boys and one girl, shivered at the shadow that loomed upon them. Reflexively stepping backwards, the teenagers first thought was that they had to run away...fast. When they were about to dash anywhere far away from the giant shadow, it's owner spoke.

''About that story...can you tell me more?"

Teen 2 '' S-story? ''

''Yes...the one about Izaya...can you tell me more?"

Terrified, the two boys were about to run as fast as they could to wherever their legs would take them as they realized the identity of the man before them, when, suddenly a calm voice spoke.

Teen 3''We don't really know anything else and there's no actual prove that he's actually missing, those are just rumors, but, since you over heard our conversation, you should know that already.''

Feeling a little embarrassed at the fact that he actually eavesdropped on a conversation, Shizuo lowered his head and apologized.

''It wasn't my intention to hear your conversation, sorry 'bout that.''

Teen 3" It's okay. We were talking loud anyways. And, you are Heiwajima Shizuo-san, right?''

''Yeah. Why d'you ask?''

Teen 3" Just confirming. You aren't scary as most people say you are.''

Blushing at the sudden almost-compliment, Shizuo gave out a little laugh and replaced his not-so-scary expression with a wide smile.

''Oh...is that so? Haha, thank you, I guess.''

The two boys who had maintained stance ever since the beginning finally let their guard down when they acknowledge that Shizuo wasn't as dangerous as everyone said and that, right now, he wasn't a threat at all, in fact, they even thought that the blond was actually quite nice.

Teen 3" Ok, we'll be going now. Sorry we couldn't be of much help.''

''It's okay. Sorry I heard your conversation. I'll go too. Bye.''

Teen 3" 'Kay. See Ya.''

Turning his back to the three teenagers, Shizuo waved a last goodbye and carried on his walk alone leaving them by themselves.

Waving back to Shizuo, the three teenagers were still perplexed at Shizuo's warm personality, which was the exact opposite of the one they were told about.

Teen 2 ''Wow. That...was...Awesome! I mean, I was like OMG at first, and then he gives that wide smile as If he was real' happy. That's **not** how I imaged the beast of Ikebukuro!"

Teen 1" Well, they say you can't judge a book by its cover.''

Teen 3" Anyways, why was Shizuo-san wondering about Izaya? Doesn't he always just chase him?''

Teen 1" I don't know. He's probably just trying to kill him again''

Teen 2" Yeah, probably...''

Teen 3 '' I don't think so...''

Teen 2" Oh yeah? What makes yo' think that? And, how did ya know he wasn't gonna smack yer face if you talked to him? ''- the boy asked his friend with a curious stupid-like smile all over his face.

Teen 3'' Well, when he approached I got really scared, and then...I noticed his expression. It was a really serious expression, but, there was something about it...something behind all that seriousness...

he looked...

...distant...

...and also...

...he looked...

...sad...

With this, the three teenagers kept on their way and didn't speak for sometime while they walked.

Shizuo kept on walking until he reached his home. Once again he changed into something more cozy and drank his milk.

He was lying on his bed, facing the ceiling. He tried to sleep but couldn't. He tossed and turned until he finally gave up. He couldn't stop thinking about what he heard on the park that day. Yet again, he was getting the feeling that something was wrong. Whether the flea was really missing or he was scheming something against him or the peace in Ikebukuro again, and that really left the blond worried, he didn't want to be charged with any more crimes he didn't commit.

At long last giving up his pride and hoping not be misunderstood, Shizuo decided to call his friend Shinra.

He got out of bed and picked up his phone. He got back to his bed and sat on it. He dialed his friend's number and waited...

Shinra was sleeping soundly, when he heard a loud noise next to his ears. His phone was ringing. He picked it up, surprised to hear Shizuo's voice on the other side of the line. He looked at his clock which read 03:57am. Shinra was used to pick up his phone at the middle of the night due to his work as an underground doctor, however, it was weird to have the Fortissimo of Ikebukuro calling him at that hour, instead of kicking his door in without any kind of previous warning.

To Shinra's surprise, Shizuo spoke with a smooth low voice.

''Hi. Sorry to be disturbing yo' this late at night''

As always, Shinra responded in a too-happy tone of voice that could and would be recognized by anyone that knew him, in any part of the globe.

''Shizuo~~ good evening. What is it?~ It's rare for you not to be kicking my door in and actually use the phone~"

''Yeah, you keep talking and I'll do as you wish''

''Okay, okay, sorry.~ So what's up?"

''Well, it's just something I've been wondering about...''

''Wow! Shizuo you've been thinking! I'm proud!"

''Shut the fuck up Shinra! I'll kick your sorry-ass! You're starting to sound like Izaya!"

''Okay, okay, sorry, sorry, haha. So, what did you want to talk about?"

''Well, I was thinking, have you seen that bastard Izaya?"

''No. Why do you ask?"

''Because I haven't seen him in a while so I thought he was out there scheming something again.''

''Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him in about... 3 weeks, if I'm not mistaken. It's weird for him not to come here with some kind of injury, or call to annoy me. What's even weirder is that whenever I called him for some kind of information he didn't answer, even though he always does.''

''And, today I heard some kids sayin' something about him having disappeared. Since he goes there a lot I thought you might know something...''

''Sorry, I really don't know anything. But, it's weird of you to worry about Izaya...''

''I'm not worried about the damn flea! I just don't wanna get charged with crimes I didn't commit! I swear if you say that again, your door will be flyin' inside your house in 15 minutes!" - Shizuo almost smashed his phone but controlled himself because this was already the third one in a month.

''Okay, sorry... If I know anything else you can be sure you'll be the first I'll tell. Well, not actually the first... since I tell my Celty everything before telling anyone else~~~ Do you know?~~, yesterday, w-''

The only think that was heard after was the sound of Shizuo hanging up the phone in his friends face.

Shinra laughed a little at his friend's reaction even though he knew from the start that Shizuo was going to do that.

He placed his phone on a small bedside table and soon was fast asleep again.

Shizuo threw his phone to a pile of clothes on the floor and sank on his bed once again. Lying on his bed Shizuo looked through his opened window and watched as a massive cloud obstructed the shining full moon, falling asleep as he remembered how Izaya would always make him chase after him into the night.