Warning: This chapter contains minor time skips, a cunning wolf, fluff, and smol children. You may try all you like to escape the adorableness, but resistance is futile.
Izaya stared patiently in wait at the man fidgeting across from him. The glare he was receiving in return greatly bemused him. All he had done was ask one little question about someone and he had kindled rage in those sunken grey eyes, wisps of smoky hair falling over them like a cloud. How fascinating.
"Blaze? What the hell are you asking about her for?"
He didn't flinch when he was suddenly met with a stoney glare from his most recent client. Instead he chose to soak it in and read the man-child like an open book.
Kaneko Daiki.
The leader of the Green Hats and a permanent fifteen year old boy despite actually being twenty years in age. When he was younger he had obviously gotten his hands on someone's secret stash of drugs and stunted his own growth. It made him a loose cannon ball when it came to his emotions and as such he had little to no self control when it came to the force of his action. Even now Izaya couldn't help but shiver slightly at the intensity of the man's stare. It was almost blindingly obvious to him that the elephant in the room was jealousy for his interest in the Yankee, making Daiki defensive.
But even for all the tense atmosphere and thick walls he tried to erect, it couldn't hide the fact that he was in love with the young woman named Okada Blaze.
Well, Izaya thought with an internal smirk, perhaps love is too strong of a word.
"I'm just curious about my classmate, that's all." He said this innocently enough, all the while ignoring the elephant and extra guests in the room, raising his hands in a placating manner. "I would ask her myself, but I'm afraid that I might have offended her the other day with a stunt I pulled."
Daiki leaned back into his worn leather couch, the few right hand henchmen that had been slowly inching their way out of the shadows withdrawing immediately. He rubbed his blocky face, a grin forming the longer he let Izaya's words set in, and his hardened countenance disappeared. A throaty chuckle echoed around the room.
"Yeah, that sounds about right. My girl will hold a grudge for a while, but gets over it pretty quickly depending on how serious the offense."
It didn't fail to escape his notice the tone of voice Daiki used, or the words he chose. Everything was dripping with adoration and it almost made him want to throw up. If he himself didn't know any better then he'd have guessed that Daiki and Blaze were actually childhood friends, knowing each other forever and simply falling in love because of it. But in reality Blaze wasn't even an official member of the Green Hats, nor any gang for that matter. She had only started hanging out with this group a little less than a year ago because of one of her friends. The two of them weren't even an item to be speaking of.
Of course, he wasn't going to be telling anyone here that he knew any of that. It would defeat the purpose of his little scavenger hunt after all.
"Sounds like the two of you are close," he remarked. Daiki's chest swelled in pride and he nodded his head vigorously. The action was a little too quick in Izaya's eyes, though, and he spotted his next chink in the armor.
Even if he hadn't done his research, he knew the Yankee wasn't seeing anyone. She may be beautiful and smart enough to get by in life, but her bold and upfront personality repulsed a fair amount of the boys that attended Raira. Add in the mixture of the kind of company she kept, including recent additions, then that made certain the rest of the normal population of men steered clear of her. No one wanted to have a serious relationship with a trouble magnet.
No one unless they were the lowest of the low, bottom feeders, other messed up street dwellers like her. Looking at Daiki now made him finally remember the correct words to describe the man's feelings. He was…
Infatuated.
Obsessed.
All in an easily morphed mask that people could use to pass off as true love.
Daiki scratched his chin while he spoke. "There's a lot I could tell you about Blaze. She's a badass bitch, y'know. In our gang we call her 'Ikebukuro no honō', cause whenever she's out on her bike she leaves behind this line of red in your eyes. Looks like a trail of flames, y'know? And to add to it she really knows how to fight. She may not be apart of the gang, but she'll help us out if we call her.
"But aside from all the technical stuff like that she's a bit of a weirdo. Blaze cultivated some weird habits like inconsistently using 'ASL' during her conversations. Says it's got something to do with one of her little brothers or something like that. It still doesn't make much sense to me. I mean," Daiki snorted. "we're in Japan, so why would she bother using American sign language to communicate? But whatever, y'know?"
Izaya nodded politely, not out of agreement. He smiled pleasantly and gestured for the man-child, under suspicion of being part baboon now what with how much he kept scratching himself, to continue giving away information so freely.
"And she's got a record for setting shit on fire too. Hey, Masa," Daiki turned in his seat to look back at someone in the shadows. The first figure on the right shuffled forward, remaining mostly in the shadows. "What was the name of the building she actually managed to burn down?"
"That was the liquor store, boss," the man answered dryly.
Izaya couldn't help himself, bursting into a lengthy cackle. Daiki waved the henchman back and turned to face him once again, a grin of his own dominating his face.
"Yeah, she says she did it just because she knew the alcohol would burn well, but I know better. Blaze hates very few things in this world: Pineapples, being underestimated, and alcohol being in that general list. Drugs are in there as well, but she doesn't raise a verbal fuss all that often. But the alcohol has more to do with her dad, and that's just a sore topic all around."
He leaned forward, suddenly much more interested than before. Daddy issues were always fun to discuss. They brought out dirty, ugly little monsters in people. Poking and prodding at these things was an ultimate form of ecstasy. It almost made him wonder if that was how Shinra felt whenever he discussed surgical procedures.
Just as he was about to pry further into Blaze's family matters, the door slammed open.
"Yo, Daiki, we've got a confrontation with some Reds down in South Ikebukuro Park. They jumped Shun and his crew and are trying to claim our territory. Again." The voice was gruff, urgent, and he was certain that there was a definite eye-roll involved somewhere. But above all it belonged to a girl.
Daiki shot up from his seat. "You've gotta be shittin' me. Tsuyoi, tell me you're just shittin' me. Can those fuckers just get it through their thick fucking heads for once? No? Well then I guess it's time for a personal appearance to pound it in. Masa, Kirai, round up the gang."
"Oh? Trouble in the city?" Izaya almost wished he had some tea on hand so he could sit back and watch the drama unfold while sipping it idly. But for now he'd just have to settle with tracking the movements of everyone in the room. It was entertaining how a simple message caused everyone to scatter like agitated bees. Or perhaps more correctly, angered wasps.
"Yeah, sorry for cutting this little meeting short, but you're gonna have to leave now. Tsuyoi!" He barked the name of the messenger.
"What?" and the reply was just as equally irritated.
"See to it that Orihara-san is escorted out properly. The rest of you, let's go!"
"Who's shitting who now, you ass! I'm not a fucking bellhop! Let the guy show himself out." The voices faded down the hall as his escort chased her boss around in an attempt to get out of doing the job. Izaya scoffed loudly the moment he was left in complete silence. He stood up and brushed himself down, noting with a hint of disgust how gross the couch he had been sitting one was. It was ripped and covered in unidentifiable substances, some he wished that he didn't have an idea as to what it could be.
He wondered if he should wait around for the girl to come back, or if he should just see himself out like she would rather anyways.
Instantly his mind was made up for him as the maiden of the hour came stomping back.
Izaya turned around and officially let his eyes rest on the human for the first time since she had arrived. The first words that popped into his mind were 'problem child'. She was fairly tall, minus the two inch heeled black boots she wore past her knees, and wore a flimsy grey shirt with a short skirt underneath a long jacket. Her right hand rested against her hip, same side leg jutting out so the weight rested on her left leg and gave the impression that she was seriously annoyed and impatient. The scowl on her face would have had him shaking in his shoes if it weren't for the fact that he wasn't particularly phased and more so interested in how her pointed eyes gave her the look of a fox. Long black hair trailed halfway down her back, the bangs carefully arranged to cover the right eye, only the tips of a scar peeking out from underneath them.
He stuck out his hand, the business smile plastered on his face. "Orihara Izaya, pleasure to meet you."
"Yeah I know who you are. Doesn't make me dislike you any less." She turned her back on him and stalked out of the room. The business smile morphed as he followed after her into something more sly and befitting of the situation. His tongue ran its course over his teeth and felt how sharp they were, enjoying the predatory feeling that was causing the blood in his veins to rush through his system like liquid fire.
"I apologize for inconveniencing you today, but I'm afraid that other than that I have no clue as to just what else I could have done to upset you." He caught up with her easily, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Let's keep it that way," she snipped.
"You wound me. Here I am trying to make up for a wrong even when we aren't properly acquainted, yet you're brushing my efforts off like I'm not trying to be sincere."
From the occasional glances he stole Izaya watched as she progressively became stiffer than a board. Her pace quickened and she sharply rounded a corner, cutting him off as she went. He couldn't help but wonder just when the fists at her sides would come flying at his face.
"Let's see," he continued to pursue conversation regardless of how one sided it had become. "Daiki-san called you Tsuyoi, correct? Then I'll call you Yoi-chin! Let's be friends from now on, okay?"
She rounded on him. "Oh hell no. You do not just get to waltz in, demand information about my best friend, and then force a friendship on me. Let's get one thing straight, buddy. I am not your friend, and you will never be mine. So just drop whatever act you playing right now and let me do my job so I don't have be around you any longer than necessary, okay?"
Slowly he stepped forward until they were nearly eye to eye, with him tilting his head down and a mocking smirk on his face. "My, my, Yoi-chin. You've got a sharp tongue that's fresh from the fire, don't you? But I think you've got a misunderstanding. You see, I don't know who your best friend is. I could have been here for any-"
"Bullshit, Orihara. I know you and Blaze are in the same class together, and I was right to think you'd come scurrying over to Daiki for information," She wrinkled her nose and gave him a once over. "You information brokers all stink like a rat, but she's right. You're a wolf who will hunt its prey down until it's deader than dead."
"And your proof?" he questioned lightly.
She turned her back on him again. "The wool of the sheep you wear isn't thick enough, dumbass."
Izaya's grin curled wickedly around his pointed features.
Good answer.
{/ = /}
It all started with his mother asking him to run an errand. She was busy cleaning and needed some more supplies. Kasuka was doing homework, so he couldn't go do it nor come with Shizuo, and his father was at work. And as it so happened he had absolutely nothing to do and was in a surprisingly good mood at that particular moment.
So, feeling optimistic, he stepped out of the confines of his house and went to the store to do what had been asked of him.
Everything went smoothly. He had gotten to the store, purchased the cleaning supplies, and had left all without a single incident. Even his walk home was peaceful. Shizuo enjoyed this kind of setting. No one was bothering him and for a brief moment he thought that today he could finally relax.
But even as he thought this, a seed of doubt wedged itself painfully in the back of his mind. The longer he walked, the further he went without some sort of unfortunate intervention, the more paranoid he grew. It wasn't like he actually wanted some dumbass to come flying out of nowhere with some kind of spiked weapon, in fact it's highly preferred that no dumbass with a spiked weapon came flying out at him, but the fact that there wasn't one put him on edge. He had become too used to such an occurrence that without it everything felt off kilter.
Shizuo pulled out his pack of cigarettes, flipping the carton open and staring in dismay at the single, solitary cigarette left. He removed it and stuck it in his mouth, discarding the box in a nearby trashcan. As he lit the cigarette he changed directions and headed for a nearby convenience store. By the time he reached it he was smoking dregs.
As he opened the door a gentle chime greeted him. The sound was quiet enough that it didn't bother him very much, and that reassured him that he was still okay. That he was still calm enough to handle his current situation.
He walked up to the register with his eyes on the ground, a hand fishing in his back pocket for his wallet. When he retrieved it he looked up, only to do a double take.
What the hell…?
A little boy who couldn't have been older than three or four sat at the counter, a big book with a ridiculous looking puppy playing with a kitten on the cover in front of him. Big, cow brown eyes stared at the page in utter fascination, a child-like sense of wonder practically causing them to glow. As he flipped the page a small breeze ruffled his coppery hair, so fluffy that it couldn't be contained, some of it sticking up irregularly from the side.
"Uh…"
Why is there a kid manning the register? Who the hell makes a kid do that? Aren't there child labor laws or something against that?
The boy's head popped up and suddenly Shizuo was trapped where he stood. He cocked his head to the side in curiosity and Shizuo had to resist the urge to do the same.
Shit, shit, shit. What do I do? Uh, smile! Smile you idiot! He needs to think you're friendly.
A weak smile cracked against his face and he nearly melted from the invisible pressure bearing down on him.
The little boy blinked before grinning a toothy grin and leaning across the counter's surface with his arms tucked underneath him. And in that moment Shizuo knew he was a goner. For as long as he could remember, children have always been one of his weaknesses. He blamed it on the complex he had developed while taking care of Kasuka.
"Hey nii-san, nii-san! Are you gonna buy sumfin from behind de countor?" The little boy waved at him. Shizuo internally slapped himself for losing his cool and nodded his head.
"I need a pack of cigarettes."
The boy nodded, a determined look clashing with his goofy little smile. He slid down from a stool he had been sitting on and disappeared completely. He reappeared with an inaudible pop and ran down a hall that would lead to the restrooms and a room for employees only, yelling "Nee-chan, nee-chan!" as he went. Shizuo was left behind to listen to an imaginary cricket.
With nothing to do he fidgeted around; glancing down to stare at the ridiculous cover of the child's book, looking from side to side between the outside and the freezer items for sale, and bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet. His moment of confusion was short lived, as the child had quickly returned with an actual employee in tow.
"Best buddy!"
There were few things in life that scared Shizuo. Even fewer times in his life that he has actually been scared. This would be one of those few times. As he heard the voice of a nightmare call out to him, and stared at her dressed in a store uniform, a small part of him died on the spot.
Blaze pranced forward and jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a strong hug. He stumbled back while trying to find the right way to convey to her to get the hell off!
"See best buddy? I knew we were meant to be! First I nearly run you over, then we meet again at school, and now you're showing up at my work? How can you deny the facts now? It's true love!" Shizuo had to forcefully pry her off, fairly surprised that he had to put so much effort into something that was normally so easy. Wary of what she might try to do next, he kept his hand on her shoulder and made sure she remained at a constant arm's length away from him.
"Wuv! Twu wuv!" The child launched himself at Shizuo's legs and suddenly he was faced with the exact same situation all over again, but with no way to pry this one off.
"'Atta boy Finn! Keep him there until reinforcements arrive!"
"Inari-tan!"
His head was spinning by the time the said 'reinforcements' arrived. Another boy, this one much older, but not quite middle school age, appeared from behind him and quietly tapped his arm. Blaze jumped the other boy too and gave him a loving hug. The two stared at each other, well Shizuo wasn't sure if the boy was staring at him, all the dark hair covering his eyes made it hard to tell, while one havoc wreaker clung to his legs and the other tolerated Blaze's weirdness.
Finally the boy, he assumed that this was 'Inari-tan', tapped the eccentric psycho on the arm and waved his hands around. He caught a few familiar gestures, having seen Blaze use them from time to time, and understood that he was signing. From what he understood, only deaf and mute people used sign language. And if this boy had heard the younger boy calling him then that could only mean…?
"Right, right, sorry," Blaze laughed and completely released Inari. His shoulders sagged slightly and he shook his head before turning to him and signing something.
"He's apologizing for my behavior," Blaze translated as she moved away to stand behind the counter. "Finn, let go of Shizuo now."
The little boy at his feet hopped back, but didn't run away from him. He simply just stood there and stared with big puppy dog eyes. Shizuo, afraid that he'd get sucked into those saucer like vortexes, turned away to face the grin of a maniac. The back of his neck grew warm as Blaze stared at him and he felt oddly embarrassed.
He should have just asked for the cigarettes and left immediately after everything had settled down. But curiosity bested him in this match.
"So are these your brothers?" It was a stupid conversational question, considering what had just barely happened, but he had asked it anyways.
Blaze turned around and fished through a drawer for keys, holding them up triumphantly when she found them. While she unlocked a case that held different brands of smokes she talked.
"Yeah, the little dude at your feet is Finn. He responds to Finny boy or Sharkbait and he is actually a little devil, so don't let his cute looks deceive you. The other little dude behind you is Inari. He's a bit shy so don't be put off if you see him one second and then he disappears the next."
She turned around and placed a white carton on the counter. He stared at the package, wondering how she knew that was the kind he liked.
The answer came to him simply enough as opened his wallet to pay for his purchase. Though her time spent with him had been short, it was enough to glean such a minor fact about himself. What else had she learned about him when he clearly hadn't been paying attention?
And what, exactly, had he learned about her?
Aside from the fact that she's insane for hanging out with me… I don't know.
If there's one thing he hated most, aside from Izaya, it was not knowing.
"Hey, Earth to Shizuo! Come in!" He blinked, leaning back with a scowl as Blaze leaned across the counter to wave her hand in his face. She gave him a cheesy grin and rested where she was. To him it appeared she was attempting to replicate some model on the front of a Vogue magazine with varying degrees of success and failure. Something about her oversized store uniform just didn't cut it for her.
"Eyy hot cakes~ Come here often?"
Then again he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know anything else about her. Perhaps he'd be safer that way. Who knew what kind of chaos she'd drag him into.
Why do I always have to attract the weirdos?
"I've gotta get home," he muttered, grabbing his smokes as he turned to go.
Blaze giggled. "Aw, you're going red! That's adorable! Finn, that's adorable isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah! Shi-tan is adowable!"
"I am not going red!" He spluttered. Whether he had actually been going red before or not he wasn't totally certain, but he most definitely could feel the overwhelming heat engulfing his entire head now. Shizuo's own words were a lie in the betraying wake of his ruddy ears and neck.
He picked up the pace, almost flinging the door off of its hinges as he left, and stomped down the street. As soon as he rounded the corner he stopped and leaned heavily against a wall. Shizuo shook as he pulled out the carton, ripping the box apart and spilling the individual packs on the ground. He knelt and grabbed the nearest one, extracting a cigarette and lighting it immediately. The moment the nicotine entered his system he felt better, if not at least a bit sharper.
Gathering up the rest of the pack, he gave himself time to calm down. He wasn't entirely sure what had come over him as he had made that less than epic escape from the convenience store. There was irritation involved, he was certain of it, but it was… good irritation? It was pretty obvious Blaze had been making fun of, no, teasing him, and that usually meant bad implications in his book. Yet no matter how much he tried to find the bad lighting from the situation, he simply couldn't.
She hadn't meant him any harm in her words, which held more of a friendly quality to them the longer he thought about it.
Does she really mean it when she says we're friends?
Shizuo tried to wrap his mind around it. It didn't help though that the only semblance of a friendship he had to use as comparison was with Shinra, who was obsessed with fairy tales and science, and Tom, who was respectively a laid back and quiet kind of guy.
He shook his head vigorously and shoved the packs back in the bag, almost accidentally tearing a hole right through it. A paper slid out of the bag from the harsh treatment it had been receiving and fluttered gently to the ground. Shizuo picked it up in confusion before realizing it was just the receipt. He was about to toss it back in the bag when a flourish of purple caught his eye.
Have a nice day Shi-chan! See you at school tomorrow! Xoxo
-Your bestest buddy in the whole wide world ;)
Despite having to squint at the messy scrawlings, and then scowl at the new nickname (including strong judgement of the winking smiley she drew), he understood the message. Shaking his head, Shizuo slipped the piece of paper back in the bag and began to walk off again at a peaceful pace. He took a deep breath and then blew a cloud of smoke into the air, a slight grin tugging up a corner of his mouth.
"Tch, you're so annoying."
{\ = \}
*wheeze* Teasing Shizuo is so fun *wheeze* Teasing Shizuo with small children is even better *wheeze*
*And suddenly a wild street sign appears and knocks the author into the sun. Justice is delivered. Torture is avoided. Shizuo thinks he is safe. A frigid air descends upon him and he stops dead in his tracks. Slowly he turns around, and out of the corner of his eye there he sees him- SHIA LEBOUF!*
QOTD: What do you think would happen when Shinra and Blaze combine their sense of humor? My answer will be revealed in the next chapter! ;)
Thank you everyone that has reviewed, faved, and followed. I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story. Best regards,
-Yopū Yuna
