Hi everyone ^^ Here's chapter two!
Your response to the first chapter made me very happy ^^ Thank you for all your review/fav/follow, I didn't expect so much of them XD
And I found a beta. Big thanks to Sweet-Strawberry-09, who beta'd this chapter (she is great :3) ^^ I'm glad so many of you proposed, though!
Enjoy!
Outside Interference - 02
There were whispers, glances and laughs. Izaya ignored them, a pensive smile on his face. Internally though, he was quite nervous. He hadn't been in a big crowd in such a long time, thus he was experiencing a bout of social anxiety.
He was in front of Raira, waiting for his sisters near the entrance of the school.
It was a test.
It was the first time he came back to Ikebukuro since the fight, and he knew he had been recognised on his way here. He was in a wheelchair, but his fur coat, red eyes and raven hair betrayed him. He had expected to be attacked, but nobody had even tried to get close to him.
So far, the test was successful. Izaya had decided this: since he couldn't help but feel, since he couldn't help but be alive, then he would see if the world wanted him to stay that way. Hence, why he was putting himself in such a dangerous situation.
Izaya wasn't sure how he would react if at the end of the day he was still alive, but for one, he wouldn't have to feel as if he ought to die because of his lost fight against Shizuo anymore.
"Iza-nii!"
Izaya looked up to see Mairu running toward him, with Kururi following more slowly behind. He nearly sighed in relief to have some company other than the strangers surrounding him.
"Came… (You really came!)" Kururi smiled. Mairu nodded vigorously, pleased as well.
They probably thought he wouldn't come, despite having called them in the morning to warn them. After all, he hasn't left a three mile radius from his flat in over six months. His sisters were surely relieved their big brother was finally moving around.
"Of course I came. Didn't I say so?"
Mairu just beamed at him and, in a familiar motion, settled behind him to push his wheelchair. Izaya was quite relieved for that, because his arms were still hurting from his trip here. He must be a bit masochist for not calling a cab and taking the train instead.
"Orihara-san?"
Izaya smirked, the kind of smirk he used to have when something interesting came his way, but only Kururi saw it. By the time Mairu had turned his chair around to face his interlocutor, his face was neutral.
In front of him stood Mikado Ryugamine. A few meters away was Kida Masaomi and Anri Sonohara, both glaring at him.
Izaya had a feeling this was going to happen. They were in the same school as his sisters, after all, and there was only one exit.
"Ah, Mikado-kun, long time no see!"
Leaning aside, Izaya smiled and waved to the other two, who seemed to recoil at the gesture, hissing like cats. Amused, the informant went back to Mikado, but to his surprise, the teenager seemed amused as well.
"We thought you were dead, when we heard about the fight."
"Well, as you can see, it's not the case."
Izaya noticed his sisters were unnaturally quiet, especially Mairu. He wondered why; really, he never knew what they were thinking.
Meanwhile, Mikado eyed his wheelchair, biting his lower lips. The kid was too polite to ask.
"Indeed, Mikado-kun, as you've surely noticed, I can't walk anymore. I'm not dead, but it was a close call."
Mikado nodded. "I'm glad to see you're as well as possible given the circumstance."
Izaya smiled in return. The teenager was still quite interesting; the informant would have thought he hated him by now, but apparently, it wasn't the case. On the contrary to his two friends over there...
Feeling a bit mischievous, Izaya decided to test the waters. "Tell me, Mikado-kun, is your life boring?"
Mikado looked at him, with that look. The one that indicated he would do anything to escape the normalcy of his life. But then, the look melted away, replaced by a warm smile. "Delightfully so, Orihara-san."
He changed, after all, Izaya thought.
"Mikado! Don't talk with him!" Masaomi called from afar, looking angry. Anri nodded in support.
Mikado let out a nervous laugh, and Izaya decided to cut the conversation short. One day or another, if his survived his test, he would have to deal with those two kids. But now was not the time. "It was nice to see you, Mikado-kun, but I think your friends are not as enthusiastic. Mairu, if you wouldn't mind?"
Fortunately, his sister obeyed without complaint. With a 'Bye bye, Mikado-kun!', she turned around. Izaya barely heard the 'Come back soon' from Mikado as he left.
"Nii... trouble... (You're always causing trouble, Iza-nii.)" Kururi observed.
Izaya wasn't sure if it was a reproach or not. "Don't worry, Kururi. The kid won't be as easily manipulated as before. He has grown. And anyway, I can't mess around with the Dollars anymore."
Kururi gave him a look, but Izaya stuck out his tongue at her. She pulled a 'seriously' face, and the informant chuckled. Kururi then proceeded to ignore him, but Izaya tickled her, as he was at the perfect level to do so.
Few knew that she was ticklish, but Izaya was her brother after all. She jumped out of his reach, then at him, but Izaya gave a tug to his wheels, slipping out of Mairu inattentive grasp and avoiding Kururi.
The girl glared at him as he turned around, readying himself for the next attack. Mairu watched as they played around, Izaya dodging Kururi each time she launched herself at him. However, she finally managed to corner him and tickled him mercilessly.
The three Orihara siblings were extremely ticklish. They used to do tournaments when they were younger, where the one that managed not to laugh was the winner. This time, Kururi won, since Izaya couldn't help but giggle at her treatment.
Then the pain hit. Izaya hiccupped, choking himself on his laugh. Kururi froze, and her eyes widened when a cry of pain escaped her brother's mouth. She retreated immediately, bumping against Mairu, who was just behind her.
They watched worriedly as Izaya tried to compose himself. While struggling against the tickles, he had given a few kick in the air, and that wasn't good at all. He painfully replaced his legs in the right position on the footboard.
"Nii..." Kururi said, and Mairu hugged her from behind.
"It's okay, Kururi. It's nice fooling around a bit from time to time, don't you think?" Izaya smiled at them, trying to reassure them that everything was okay. "Let's just not get too carried away, alright?"
Kururi nodded and gave him a kiss on the check. Izaya took advantage of the occasion to tickle her a bit, and she flinched away, pouting. Mairu shook her head with a smile, and took place behind Izaya once again.
As they got going again, Izaya realised a few bystanders had stopped to watch them. Some of them looked at them oddly, and the informant wondered if they were some of the ones who knew who he was. Anyway, he didn't pay much attention to them.
"So where do you want to get lunch, Iza-nii?" Mairu asked as they arrived to a crossroad.
Izaya pointed left. "Russian sushi," he replied curtly. He wasn't going to spare himself anything today. It was a test.
Kururi, beside him, nodded. "Often... Lunch... (We often go get lunch here.)".
"The fish is divine, right? Especially ootoro!" Izaya exclaimed, but got no other reaction from Kururi. The accident from earlier had darkened her mood.
When the restaurant came into view, his sisters switched places and Mairu ran ahead into the shop. Simon wasn't outside, so he was probably sitting clients. When he entered inside (Kururi carefully manoeuvring the stairs), the 'Welcome' he got from Dennis was the same he remembered, like the rest of the place. It hadn't changed much.
Simon was with Dennis, and Izaya didn't see any surprise in their expression. Mairu must have warned them.
Simon still had that too big smile on his face. "Orihara-kun! It has been a while! You should come eat sushi more often! Sushi is good for health."
Izaya chuckled. "I will try, Simon, I will try."
The Russian nodded and led him to a table next to the bar. He took off one chair and put it behind another table, allowing Kururi to place Izaya in the empty space left. His sisters sat in front of him and Simon waited until they were settled.
"So, Orihara-kun, ootoro for you is it?"
Izaya nodded with a smile. "Like you need to ask."
Mairu exchanged a look with Kururi, who gave her silent agreement. "We will take the basic menu with salmon, Simon-san!"
The Russian nodded and carried their order to Dennis. He gave them some drinks while they waited.
"Simon," Izaya called in Russian, as the man was about to step outside. "I believe I owe you a thanks."
Simon looked at him strangely, but didn't seem surprised. "What for, Orihara-kun? You don't have to thank me for the sushi, we are a sushi restaurant!"
"For saving my life," Izaya clarified. Simon fell silent, and his sisters eyed them curiously, probably grasping the gist on the conversation since they had learned a bit of Russian from their brother. "When I was fighting Shizu-chan and Varona was about to shoot me, you threw a grenade which allowed Kine-san to whisk me away."
Izaya had been mad at him before, for didn't allowing the fight to come to its natural conclusion, but it would be hypocritical if he still harboured such feeling now.
Simon looked at him, and Izaya was reminded of that time when he had punched him, after the conclusion his scheme concerning the Dollars and the Yellow scarves. He often wondered what Simon thought of him, since he never let his opinion show. Maybe he felt contempt, for the evil informant sending girls to their death. Or maybe it was indifference, aside from the politeness due to his client's status.
"You're welcome, Orihara-kun." Simon smiled. "Fighting is bad, after all."
Izaya nodded and Simon gave them their plate, before making his way outside. When Izaya turned back to his sisters, they were watching him with a matching peculiar expression.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing, Iza-nii, nothing." Mairu sang to annoy him, but Izaya just smiled. Kururi hesitated a little, looking at his sister then at him before she spoke. "But... never told..."
Izaya knew exactly what she meant.
"I figured you already knew all the sordid details, given the number of videos and reportage that have been released on the internet."
"Yeah, of course," Mairu confirmed. "But it didn't come from you. We want you to tell us with your own words."
"Do I really have to?" he complained.
Kururi nodded and Mairu flashed him her brightest smile. Izaya sighed and ate a piece of ootoro.
"Well, first, let it be said that I had done nothing wrong this time. It was this woman impersonating Yadogiri Jinnai who kidnapped Shinra, captured Celty and hired Varona. Shizu-chan's anger was wrongly directed at me. Just because I happened to be there..."
His sisters gave him a look and he chuckled.
"Alright, alright. Maybe I tried to bury him under tons of iron, but it was after!" Izaya frowned. "In retrospective, I think he was mad because his precious kohai sprained her ankle. But come on, what's a sprain in the grand scheme of things? It's not really threatening, just bothersome. I mean, you can still fight when you have a sprain, it's painful, but manageable. I managed to lost Shizu-chan once before even though he had broken my left leg..."
His sisters, in sync, narrowed their eyes at him. Izaya cleared his throat, focusing back on the subject.
"Anyway, my goal was still to piss him off, so it worked admirably. I lured him into the building, and told Mikage to guard the stairs. I didn't want anyone to interfere, especially not this Varona."
Izaya scrunched his face in disdain. For all the delicious humanity she was displaying, he couldn't find it in himself to find Varona interesting in the least.
"I had a plan, but as usual, Shizu-chan didn't care. It involved choking him to death and finishing him off with an explosion, but it didn't work that well. He managed to avoid it all, only damaging his arm in the process."
Those details obviously weren't known, seeing how his sisters leaned forward with curiosity. They didn't seem perturbed at all by the fact that their big brother was telling them how he planned to murder someone.
"Then, Shizu-chan grabbed the base of the iron structure I was standing on. He dismantled it, making me fall, and while I was readying myself for the impact of the landing, he hit me with a big iron bar, sending me flying into a building."
Izaya fell silent for a while, eating his ootoro and remembering. If his sisters weren't who they were, they would surely have told him he didn't have to keep going. But they were too curious to care about something as irrelevant as their brother's discomfort.
"I guess I blacked out for a while after that. When I woke up, Shizu-chan wasn't far behind, so I ran. From there, it was our familiar chase, me running and him throwing heavy things at me."
Izaya didn't talk about his injuries. His sisters knew enough about their consequences anyway.
"But then I got distracted. It's a fatal mistake when you're fighting Shizu-chan, to get distracted. He punched me right in the face, but I managed to protect myself with my arms."
His sisters nodded, probably recalling the first time they saw him after the fight, confined in a bed with his casts still on.
"He was about to do it. I knew he would have done it. I was defenceless; one punch and he would have killed me. But Varona had to intervene..."
Izaya sighed, wondering if he was still angry at her for that. He decided he would sort out his feelings at the end of his test. No point in doing it before.
"And I just told the rest. Simon threw a flashing grenade, and the next things I remember, I was in Kine-san's car."
There were still ootoro left on his plate, but Izaya was full.
"Happy?" he asked his sisters, a bit bitterly. They were so annoying sometime.
"Thank you, Iza-nii! There is so much crap on the Internet, the details weren't clear." Mairu looked genuinely happy indeed, which made Izaya roll his eyes.
But then he wondered... Was the fact they didn't ask sooner their way of sparing him?
"Are you both done?" he asked, eyeing their empty plate.
"Waiting for you..." Kururi responded.
"I'm already full. Let's ask for the bill."
He waved at Dennis, who nodded. His sisters let him pay for them – he was the one who invited them after all.
"You are going to take us back home, aren't you?" Mairu said once outside, already pushing his wheelchair in the right direction.
Izaya knew any attempt to refuse wouldn't be acknowledged, so he resigned himself. It was a waste of time for his test, but what else could he do? He needed a distraction.
Fortunately, an occasion presented itself a few minutes later.
Izaya saw the van pass by them, and smiled when it suddenly stopped, its wheels skidding against the pavement as his conductor violently hit the brakes.
Izaya raised a hand, silently asking Mairu to stop. She did, and also eyed the van with amusement as it went backward and brutally stopped again at their level.
A tinted window opened, and Kadota's puzzled face appeared.
"Yo, Dotachin!" Izaya cheerfully greeted.
"Izaya?!" Kadota had his mouth hanging open, like he couldn't believe his eyes. "You're… alive?"
"Very much so."
Kadota stared at him, unable to wipe the surprise from his face.
The side door of the van opened all of the sudden, and two figure jumped in the air, landing right in front of Izaya.
"He is alive! I knew it, he is alive!"
"Calm down, Karisawa-san! It doesn't mean you were right."
"Yes it does! Shizaya exists! Of course Shizu-Shizu couldn't kill Iza-Iza, their love is too strong!"
"Not with the yaoi thing again…"
"But look, look, Yuma-chi, his wheelchair is so cool! It's like those main character with a disability who, when the final boss is coming, miraculously recover!"
"In this case, wouldn't it be more like the antagonist who was defeated and end up in a wheelchair because the hero didn't want to kill him and become a murderer?"
"No, Yuma-chi, you don't get it! Shizu-Shizu and Iza-Iza are in love! There is no villain in this story."
"But wouldn't Shizuo be there to take care of Izaya if that was the case?"
"Ah, don't ruin it! He is just taking a break, because Iza-Iza needed to pass some time with his sisters!"
Izaya listened to them with an amused smile, but Kadota was mostly annoyed. "Stop it, you two!" He sighed when they complained, but at least, they reported their attention on Izaya's sisters.
"So, you didn't die," Kadota stated, looking at Izaya.
"It's infuriating how you all sound like a broken record."
Kadota shook his head. "Okay, then, how have you been?"
"And here comes the broken record again."
Kadota gave him a look, but Izaya blinked innocently. He could see, from the corners of his eyes, his sisters engrossed in conversation with Yumasaki and Karisawa.
"Can you do something about that?" Kadota asked, pointing at his wheelchair.
"Ah ah, no, Dotachin, I'm afraid it's permanent." It was a lie, but Kadota had no way to tell. Moreover, Izaya wasn't sure of anything anymore.
"I see… Shizuo…"
"… swung me into a building with a giant iron pole." Izaya nodded happily, making Kadota wince.
"Right…"
The conversation went to a still and they both glanced at Erika and Mairu, who were giggling like the teenagers they were. Kururi watched them without any kind of expression, while Walker was putting his head in his hand.
"Do you need a lift?" Kadota asked then, kindly.
Izaya arched an eyebrow. "It would be great if you could take my sisters home. I promised them a lunch, but they managed to force me to come home with them, those little parasites."
Kadota smiled. "Okay, sure, we can do that. But don't you want us to take you somewhere?"
"Nah, I'm good."
Kadota looked at him with a frown, but he didn't insist. "Give me a call soon, okay?"
Izaya nodded, not letting his confusion show. Kadota and he weren't that close, as they only talked when they encountered each other in the street. It wasn't enough to count him as a friend in Izaya's book, but apparently, Kadota had lower standards.
Obviously, his sisters weren't too happy with his decision. They wanted him to come with them, but that wouldn't do for his test. He didn't want his sisters to get in trouble because of him, even if he knew they were more than capable of defending themselves.
And also... He didn't want to see that house again.
He managed to convince them by promising to see them again very soon. He waved them goodbye, and watched as the van disappeared around the corner of the street.
Izaya stayed where he was for a bit, thinking. He was a little tired, but it was early in the afternoon, and his test didn't stop before at least 8 PM. It was an arbitrary number, but Izaya didn't feel like waiting until midnight, when there wouldn't be any more train to take him back to Asakusa.
So he had a bit over five hours left. He decided to wander around a bit, and to stop every hour in a café to rest a little. He killed the time by observing his humans, doing some shopping (but he didn't buy anything, just looked) and sipping coffee.
Two hours passed like that, and Izaya was in a fairly deserted part of Ikebukuro when he noticed. They weren't trying to be very discrete – or they were just very unskilled. Either way, Izaya decided the confrontation was inevitable. Maybe it would be the conclusion of his test...
He took a sharp turn into an empty alleyway and sensed the surprise of his trackers. However, they quickly followed, not pretending to be innocent passer-byers anymore. Izaya turned around to face them, and was disappointed to discover their faces was unknown to him.
Their grins were unpleasant. The turn of their mouth wasn't very sharp, and their teeth were dirty. The glint in their eyes was dim, and the knifes they were holding dull.
Izaya sighed softly. He didn't want to be killed by third-zone thug like these. He had imagined some classy yakuza (not unlike Shiki) coming at him with guns and politeness. Not this...
"Orihara-san," one of the nameless thug whispered. "It's finally time for us to take our revenge!"
Izaya thought hard, but he really didn't remember them. He returned a smirk of his own, hoping they would recognize a real threatening smile when they saw one. "I will have to ask you to take a ticket and wait at the end of the line."
On of the man, who looked like the leader of the two, frowned and took a menacing step forward. "You realise the situation you are in, Orihara-san?"
When Izaya failed to respond, just looking at them with disdain, the second man interrupted. "I don't think he remembers us, Yashi."
Izaya examined the one that just spoke closely, and he realized, with surprise, that he seemed almost reluctant. Was it his reputation or the wheelchair? He could use that.
"I bet he remembers Fang at least. It wouldn't do if he didn't know who finally managed to beat him." The Yashi person smirked, and indeed, Izaya remembered Fang.
It was a minor gang which he dismantled about two years ago. Their leader, despite being a regular client, had refused to pay him once, and Izaya had been forced to take drastic measures. After all, it wouldn't do if other started to mimic him.
Izaya wasn't someone to mess with. For all he knew, Fang's leader was now in Russia, forced to work as a slave.
"I agree, it's very brave and honourable to take on someone unable to defend himself."
Yashi snorted, but as Izaya expected, the other man took a defensive stance. He was uncomfortable. Eyes sharpening, Izaya added: "But then again, you don't seem to be the kind of people who have any honour or respect."
Yashi tensed, holding out his knife and getting ready to attack, but the other drew back a little. Izaya smiled. If it was only one, he could manage.
Yashi lunged forward with a cry, and Izaya went to meet him, much to his attacker's surprise. He leaned aside, ignoring the pain that shot through his legs and up his back at the sudden move. The blade grazed his shoulder, cutting the clothes but not the skin. Izaya produced his own blade and cut a few slash up the thug's arm and front, making him cry out in pain. He then gave a pull to his wheels, circling the man and coming back in front of him.
Yashi's knife clattered to the floor, and he took a step back. His friend was watching with wide eyes.
"The fuck?" The wounded man swore, trying to put some pressure on the cuts to prevent them from bleeding too much.
Izaya marvelled at them, his humans, so weak and impressionable. They wouldn't stand a chance against him if it weren't for his legs, and yet, they still came, persuaded they could take him out. But now they realised he could still fight, they didn't know how to react.
Frankly, Izaya hoped they would just ran away, because he doubted he could pull another stunt like that. If they attacked him again, he wouldn't be able to come out unscathed, especially if there were two of them.
But, wasn't this the point of his test?
No, Izaya decided. If he had an escape route, he was meant to take it. That's why, when he saw the thugs weren't going to run and instead prepared for another strike, he stood. Literally, he planted his feet on the ground, and stood.
The two man watched him, bewildered. He arched an eyebrow. "What? Did you really think I was injured? Or better yet, did you really think I would come back to Ikebukuro if I was incapable of defending myself?"
"You bastard, you're not..." They were hesitant, but it wasn't enough.
Izaya took a step forward and flicked his blade open and close, open and close. "So? Care to resume our fight?"
They swallowed audibly, then scampered off like frightened rabbit. Izaya waited until they were out of sight before collapsing, hitting the ground hard.
...
...
He must have passed out for a while, because the sun was setting when he managed to open his eyes and focus his vision.
The pain had spread from his legs to his back, and while he had escaped most of it while he was unconscious, there was now a sharp ache in all his body, which, he knew, wouldn't go away before a day or two.
Fortunately, nobody had found him, and the alleyway was still empty. The thugs hadn't come back with back-ups. Izaya was lucky. Maybe his test wasn't doomed to fail, after all...
His clothes were a bit dirty, because an alleyway wasn't the most sanitary place, but at least, he hadn't fallen in a puddle of vomit or something equally disgusting. He tried to dust off the most of it, but couldn't do anything about the wetness.
Getting back on his wheelchair was hard, but he managed to do it. He mainly used his arms, because his legs were in no state to support his weight again. Izaya imagined Shinra's face if he told him that he stood for almost thirty second.
He wondered if he could pop by and ask for some painkiller... And maybe a ride back. The night was falling, and he was quite tired. He didn't feel like walking (as a figure of speech) back to his flat. Taking the bus or the train was bothersome as well.
But going to Shinra... The doctor was ambiguous during his visit. Izaya didn't know what to think of him anymore. Were they still friends? It seemed like it... But could he come, just like that, unannounced?
Izaya finally shrugged. Since when did he care about social convention? Well, he didn't. If Shinra didn't want him to visit, he will just have to kick him out.
He therefore began to take the familiar path through Ikebukuro that lead to Shinra's building. He wasn't in a hurry; if it wasn't for the pain, he would still be wandering around Ikebukuro until the end of his test.
After a while, Izaya looked at the sky, and he suddenly felt the urge to climb a building and admire the city, like he used to. Sadly, it wasn't an option anymore. Albeit…
Wasn't there an abandoned building, not far from here, with construction ramp all the way to the roof? But it was six months ago… Well, it didn't hurt to try.
Izaya glanced at one of his cell phones. One hour left for his test. He could go to Shinra after. The pain was... painful, but not really threatening to his health. It was just in his head. Like everything else.
Luckily, the building was exactly how he remembered it, and he managed to climb to the roof, with sore arms as the only inconvenience.
However, it quickly appeared that the roof was already occupied. The first clue was the sound of crying, and then Izaya saw the shadow standing at the edge of the roof, hunched over the void.
He almost left. Almost. But a deeply buried memory flashed before his eyes, and he rolled forward.
"You're pathetic," he said to the girl, for she was a girl. From behind, Izaya only saw her unnaturally red hair, which reached her hips and covered her entire back.
When he spoke, she flinched, but didn't turn around. "Go away." Her voice was raspy, as if she had used it to scream for hours.
"You are going to kill yourself." A statement. "Does it matter if I am here to witness it?"
The girl curled up even more on herself. "I guess not." She sniffed. Still not turning around, she took a shaky breath. "But I don't really want to die."
"Really? Then why are you standing here? Admiring the view perhaps?"
She stayed silent for a while, swallowing a few time, but still crying. "I'm broken. He... He broke me. I don't have anything to live for anymore, so my only option is to die, right?" She sounded like she was wanted a reassurance.
Izaya snorted. "Like I said, pathetic. Running away from a little pain like that..."
The laugh in his voice was the last straw.
She turned around, eyes wide with anger. "What do you even know about pai –" And then she saw his wheelchair, and fell very silent.
Izaya smirked, but his voice was serious when he spoke. "You are not broken. You're crying, and you only cry when you heart is breaking. Once it's broken, there is no more tears to shed. It's not too late."
She was puzzled, and didn't know to respond. Even in the darkness, Izaya noticed how blue her eyes were. A deep blue, with a darker ring around the edge. She finally settled for a: "You don't know what you are talking about." The hesitant look she gave his legs was almost funny.
Izaya sighed. "Well, then, I will stop bothering you." He turned around, not missing from the corner of his eyes how she extended an arm toward him without thinking. He went to the other side of the roof, and was glad to see the city was as beautiful as ever, full of lights and noises. He couldn't climb on the railing, but it was enough.
The girl had followed him. "What are you doing here?" she asked, standing beside him.
"Well, I should probably precise, I'm not here to kill myself."
She frowned, and looked at him. "Then why?"
"I just wanted to look at the city, and the access to the rooftop was easy."
She glanced back at the ramp, her gaze grazing his wheelchair, then at the city.
...
Ten minutes later, when Izaya went back down the building, she came with him.
Once on the ground, he glanced at her. "Even the fact you changed your mind is pathetic."
She sighed. "Why are you so mean?"
"Why do you want me to be kind? Are you expecting me to feel sympathy, or even pity, toward your suicidal self?" Izaya looked up at her, noticing even in the dark the light blush that settled on her cheeks.
"Most people would," she grumpily replied.
But Izaya wasn't most people. He understood suicide, and she didn't have what it took to kill herself.
Humming softly, he began to move down the street. Predictably, she followed him, by curiosity or loneliness, he didn't know. "Suicide itself isn't pathetic," he announced, because he somewhat wanted her to understand.
"But the one who do it are?" she asked, sarcastic.
"You just need one thing," Izaya went on, ignoring her. "A strong resolution. A will strong enough to not waver against pain, supplication or people who knows how to wield words like me. If you have that, then you have respect for what you want to do."
She stayed silent for a while, and Izaya was sure if he looked at her, she would have a thoughtful expression on her face. "The reasons do not count?"
Izaya snorted. "You have as much reason to die as there is to live. It matters not if you choose to die because you broke your pen, as long as you are able to get through with it."
"Your way of thinking is really disturbed."
He flashed a smile at her, then noticed she stopped crying. "You're not crying anymore. Are you broken now?"
She pressed a hand against her chest. "No, I'm not." She looked sure of herself.
"How interesting," Izaya commented, but he realised he had lost interest in her. They were silent for a moment.
"Who are you?" she asked then.
"An observant," he told her, a line he had served a ridiculous number of people before.
"You didn't just observe me," she pointed out.
"I love to watch humans, but sometimes they need a little push in the right direction." This was also a rehearsed line.
"And I not killing myself was the right direction." She was puzzled, but, after all, who wouldn't be? Nobody understood why he loved observing them so much, watching their every movement and tricking them into difficult situations.
Izaya shrugged. "It didn't matter to me if you had jumped or not. I just wanted to taunt you, and show you how pathetic you are."
He felt the glare, even without looking at her. "You don't have many friends, do you?"
Izaya thought about the last two weeks of his life, and smiled. "I don't know about that. Apparently, it's not up to me."
She looked at him strangely, but didn't comment. "So, who are you?"
"Someone you will not see again after tonight."
They parted ways soon after.
…
He was fifteen minutes away from Shinra, just fifteen minutes away from the end of his test, when they struck. This time, it was efficiency; it was discipline and it was guns. In a matter of seconds, he was encircled by five yakuza. The kind with suit and polished nails.
Izaya recognised them immediately. It was a gang from Shinjuku, the Crow. It was a little surprising, because there weren't from Ikebukuro, and Izaya expected to be assaulted by locals. He didn't know the word of his presence here would spread this fast.
One yakuza, who seemed to be the leader, took a step forward. His gun was resting against his thigh.
"I believe you know why we are here for, Orihara-san."
Izaya smirked, even if it felt like he shouldn't. It was a serious situation, and its solemnity rendered his mocking smile out of place. "Indeed I do."
The yakuza nodded, and his face was at least in tune with what he was about to do. All grim and cold. "No hard feelings, then. It's just business."
"But of course. It's not like I will be able to hold any grudge after that."
"You're taking this surprisingly well." There was some surprise in his voice.
"I had time to come to term with it." Six whole months.
"It's easier for us, then." The leader nodded toward his underlings, who took a step back, before raising his gun. "Goodbye, Orihara-san."
Izaya watched as the yakuza pointed his gun at him in a slow motion. Everything looked sluggish, like in a movie, leaving plenty of time for Izaya's thought to race through his head.
That was it. He was going to die. Once the trigger would be pulled, the bullet would pierce through his skin, his bones, his brain, shattering everything inside. Blood would spill and splash onto his killer's face. And he would be dead.
Izaya viewed the scene almost perfectly, him sagging into his wheelchair, bit of gore splattered onto his headboard.
The image didn't stir any particular feeling in him. He idly wondered if he could somehow save himself, but he didn't see any solution. Well, then…
Should he close his eyes or not? It would be seen as cowardly, but it was kind of a tradition, wasn't it? He would close his eyes, waiting for the blow, but it would not happen and when he would open his eyes, someone would have come to save him...
No, what was he thinking? There wasn't anyone who would bother saving him (now, now, you know that's not quite true...). And even if there was, he shouldn't wish for it. He had made his decision: he would accept the result of his test, whatever it was.
He felt the cold of the gun against his forehead, and nearly rolled his eyes at the dramatic pose. But he couldn't really berate the yakuza for that, being himself prone to show off.
Izaya finally decided to keep his eyes open, and watched as the finger of the yakuza came closer to the trigger, and closer, and closer...
"OI!"
Izaya startled badly, focused as he was on his impending death. The yakuza were quicker to collect themselves and turned toward the newcomer.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Izaya blinked, flabbergasted, and watched with wide eyes as Shizuo took hold of one of the yakuza and hurled him toward two other. The three remaining fumbled with their guns, but the blond charged without hesitation and took out two more with a punch.
The last one, the leader, took advantage of his position and leaped behind Izaya, pressing the gun against his temples. That stopped Shizuo, who glared at the yakuza.
"Step back, Heiwajima-san."
Shizuo growled, but didn't move.
Izaya marvelled at what had just happened. Wasn't life interesting? Wasn't life unpredictable?
Sudden adrenaline coursing through his veins, Izaya seized the yakuza's wrist and skilfully banded it backward, making him drop the gun. A sickening crunch was heard, but the yakuza ignored the pain and took hold of his collar, trying to strangle him. Izaya struggled, but the backrest of his wheelchair prevented him from elbowing his attacker in the stomach.
Then Shizuo was there, and he grabbed the yakuza by the throat, forcing him to let go of Izaya. He sent him flying into the sky while Izaya flopped back on his wheelchair.
Around them, the rest of the yakuza shakily got back on their feet. They retrieved the two that were unconscious, before running away.
Once they were gone, Izaya turned toward Shizuo, who was panting, trying to get the anger out of his system.
"Shizu-chan... What the hell are you doing?" His tone was neutral, but his eyes were blazing. Shizuo didn't respond, frowning down at him.
"Maybe you couldn't see well in the dark, but it's me, you know, Izaya-kun, the one that should stay away from Ikebukuro..." That didn't get any reaction either, and Izaya internally calmed himself. Shizuo saved his life. He couldn't deny it, but the thought still made his heart ache. He didn't know if he was relieved or not; if he was happy or not.
"Did a cat catch your tongue?" He kept on teasing, falling into the familiar pattern and shoving all the feelings that weren't amusement deep down to examine later.
"You don't take on someone who can't fight back," Shizuo finally said, grumpily. He looked to the side, his gaze tracing Izaya's legs before coming back to his face.
The informant gave him a smile. "Who said I couldn't fight back?" He threw a knife at Shizuo, aiming right in the middle of his forehead. The blond barely dodged it, getting a cut on the side of his face.
"Stop it, flea!" he yelled, annoyed but not pissed off enough to strike back.
Laughing, Izaya threw him all the knives he kept hidden in his sleeves, making Shizuo dance as he tried to avoid them. He was getting a bit carried away, but it was fun, and he didn't even feel his legs or the pain in his arms.
"Why would I? It's just like old time, isn't it? Aren't you going to chase me around?"
Shizuo stilled at that, eyes narrowing in what must have been anger, and one of the knifes cut his arm. "Of course not, you stupid louse! We can't do that anymore!"
This time, it was Izaya who froze, and he drew his hand back on his lap. "Yeah... I guess I can't do that anymore." He gave Shizuo yet another smile, but it was sad and the blond saw it clearly. He didn't say anything in response, and an awkward silence settled between them.
They were both remembering better times, when they were running around the city, Izaya defying gravity, while Shizuo pushed the limit of his strength again and again.
"What are you doing here?" Shizuo asked then, with an edge in his voice Izaya didn't bother to decipher. The night was dark, but the moon was high and shining light on their faces, the shadows playing with their hair.
"Well, obviously, getting rescued by you," Izaya sarcastically said, because he didn't want to tell Shizuo about his test, or anyone really. And that's what he was doing, getting rescued like a disabled damsel in distress by a knight in a bartender suit.
"Stop deflecting, flea!"
Izaya sighed. "I was just rolling around, Shizu-chan, when some yakuza attacked me." He made it sound so innocent, adding just the right amount of recalled surprise, but Shizuo didn't fall for it.
"Makes me wonder why," he replied dryly.
It wasn't a question, but Izaya responded anyway. "To get revenge, undoubtedly."
Shizuo glared at him. "If you have so many enemies, why come here?"
"Who knows, Shizu-chan, who knows." Izaya thought his elusive answer would annoy the blond, but Shizuo seemed to have some kind of epiphany, because his eyes cleared, then darkened, and finally narrowed.
"Are you suicidal or something?" The question caught Izaya off guard. What was Shizuo talking about now?
"Why are you saying that?" He asked before Shizuo could notice something was wrong.
"Well, coming here on your own, like that, with so many people who hate you... It's like you have a death wish," he said it very matter-of-factly, and it unnerved Izaya.
Of course he didn't want to die. It was true that his test could look like an elaborated suicide attempt but that wasn't the case. Was it? He wanted his test to succeed, but, on the other hand, he hadn't really struggled against the yakuza before Shizuo showed up.
"I don't," he said, softly, very softly, because he wanted to voice it, to deny it. He didn't know if Shizuo heard him, because the blond kept looking at him, like he was waiting for something.
Suddenly, Izaya straightened, deciding he was done for the night. "If you have nothing to add, I think I will get going." Without looking at Shizuo, he turned around and moved forward, out of the alleyway and into the street. And of course, the blond followed him.
He stayed a few paces behind, and Izaya didn't bother turning around to see what face he was making. It didn't take too long for Shizuo to notice where the informant was heading.
"Are you going to Shinra?"
Izaya didn't respond, didn't even acknowledge the question.
"Why are you going to Shinra?" Shizuo was insistent, and Izaya realised he wouldn't let it go if he didn't at least get an answer.
"None of your business, Shizu-chan. I do what I want." Shizuo grunted something, but Izaya didn't pay attention. The silence resumed.
"You didn't thank me." The blond had caught up to him, walking by his side, and Izaya looked up at him, puzzled by the statement.
"I beg your pardon?" Shizuo had an arrogant smile on his face, and Izaya wanted to wipe it off with acid. Or maybe with a kiss.
"I saved you. You didn't think me."
Izaya rolled his eyes. "And I won't, Shizu-chan. Stop with the wishful thinking. I told you, I could have taken care of them myself. Your 'help' was unnecessary – and unwanted."
Shizuo frowned at him. "I still want a thanks though."
Izaya snorted. "You aren't getting any."
"Ungrateful louse."
"Stupid protozoan," he shot back.
"Shut up."
"Shut up yourself." Izaya sped up a little, preventing Shizuo from replying anything.
However, Shizuo seemed very keen on following him, despite Izaya giving him glares and frowns every once in a while. He didn't say anything, just walked three feet behind him, cigarette in hand.
The informant wondered what was going on in Shizuo's stupid brain. Did he stay in order to protect him? No, that was preposterous. He probably wanted to go to Shinra too. But why didn't he go another way? They were in the neighbourhood, so he could easily take another road.
Izaya finally decided to ignore him completely. He wouldn't let that brute disturb him, and fortunately, he had something else to focus on: the pain.
He had overdone it, moving around all day, fighting and standing up... He was aching all over, and spike of pain randomly came. He vaguely wondered if he would have enough strength to make it to Shinra. Still at least ten minutes left...
He suddenly stopped, and Shizuo, caught off guard, nearly ran into him. "Flea?"
Izaya sighed, pressing his hands against his eyes. He was so tired, and the adrenaline he felt during the fight had long worn off. Maybe he could sleep at Shinra's place and go back to his flat in the morning...
But he lost his train of thoughts as his wheelchair slowly moved forward, and he soon nodded off, letting his head rest on the side of the headboard.
TBC