Edited: 06/01/2016. Many thanks to katBelle for the beta.
His Predator and His Prey
Chapter Three
Being inside a room full of men was a bit unnerving. Especially if they were Yakuza and not ordinary men. Normally, they would meet up outside – somewhere in an abandoned building or parking lot, but the information today was too sensitive, so Izaya had to be escorted to their headquarters. The Awakusu-kai was an underground organization you wouldn't want to make a misstep in front of, especially in the presence of its executive member – the feared 'White Wolf' of underground Ikebukuro, Shiki Haruya.
"You're unusually quiet today, Orihara-kun," the man sitting across from him casually remarked as he finished reading the files outlining what Izaya had gathered about a new foreign rival group messing within their territory. Like Shizu-chan, Shiki was an Alpha, an intimidating character with a scary reputation. He poured himself a tea, and gently slid the cup across the table to the young informant. "If you're scared, then you have nothing to fear. My men won't hurt you, unless you are planning to harm us. We rarely get high schoolers for guests, and I know you're too smart to do something stupid, right?" There was no comfort in his voice even though his words appeared to be some sort of reassurance.
Izaya just crossed his legs rather haughtily. "How considerate of you, Shiki-san. If you're going to threaten me, you don't have to sound nice about it. It's unbefitting for the feared 'White Wolf', don't you think?" He heard one of the men standing behind the Alpha growled, and Shiki immediately raised a hand in warning. Izaya didn't bother to hide his amusement. "You sure do have obedient subordinates, Shiki-san. That's an Alpha for you."
Most of Shiki's men were Betas. Betas tended to follow strong Alphas who could lead them, and could sometimes be very loyal to their superiors. The young informant vaguely wondered, if he'd been awakened a Beta, would he also be a follower like some dog? Just as his parents were practically slaves to their work? Well, dogs sounded better than bitches.
Shiki just smirked at him. "Would you like to work with the Awakusu-kai when you're older Orihara-kun? We could use more talented Betas like you."
"Are you really offering me – an underage kid – a job with the Yakuza? You should know better, Shiki-san. I'm kind of disappointed, and it's Orihara-san," Izaya stressed.
"I said when you're older, Orihara-san. And it would be a good job for a cheeky brat like you. The package will arrive in a minute, so please have some tea while you wait, and don't worry, it's not poisoned," Shiki said as he sipped his tea to prove his point. A loud knock on the door interrupted their short peace, and another man walked into the room. His strides were slightly uncoordinated, and he had a cane to support himself. As he came closer, something told Izaya that this man was dangerous, maybe even more so than Shiki, despite his friendly appearance.
"A boatload of Omega suppressants imported from Russia to Sir Shiki," the man announced, as he dropped the box on the table, causing Shiki to spill his tea and frown disapprovingly. "I'm telling you, it's not a joke smuggling these things without the government sniffing your trail. It's more troublesome than illegal weapons and drugs," he grumbled and took a seat beside Izaya. "What do you need it for anyway, Sir Shiki? If you have problems with your heat, you could just buy suppressants in a local drug store."
Shiki glared at the other man in annoyance. "This isn't for me, it's for him."
The man quickly switched his attention to the boy sitting beside him, as if he'd just noticed his existence, and lowered his designer sunglasses to study his features more closely. Izaya tried not to swallow hard at the man's penetrating stare, and was a little worried that he might uncover his secret. "What's your name kid?"
"Orihara Izaya. And this is not for me, it's actually for a friend," Izaya smoothly replied, meeting the man's stare directly with his own. There was a long scar across his left eye, as if someone had slashed it, and he smelled faintly of blood. Izaya didn't need to guess that this man was an Alpha, but unlike Shiki he didn't bother to hide his pheromones. In fact, he'd been flaunting it around like some sort of invitation, and for some reason it was directed to the young informant. Izaya tried very hard not to squirm in his seat, and held his breath.
"You're wasting your time, Akabayashi-san. This kid is a Beta, and a really stubborn one," Shiki finally commented on the little scene in front of him.
"Are you sure about that, Sir Shiki?" The man named Akabayashi grinned toothily as he continued to interrogate the boy with just a simple stare of his remaining right eye, before he drew back in contentment. Izaya inwardly sighed in relief. "Well, aren't you too young to be playing around with the Yakuza, little informant-kun?" Akabayashi said with a kind smile, his personality turning a complete 180. Izaya heard Shiki mutter something under his breath.
"There's no need to keep an eye on me, Akabayashi-san. I know what I'm doing." Izaya smiled back, though it was rather forced, as he stood up and prepared to take his leave. He slipped the package into his backpack and was reminded that he still had classes after this. "It's nice meeting you, and it's good doing business with you, Shiki-san. I hope we can continue this relationship in the future. But not so soon, we have a school trip next week. I'll be off the grid for a little while."
"School trip, eh? I remember my last school trip was really fun, we went sightseeing, and stayed up late and engaged ourselves in secret activities," Akabayashi said suggestively, with a spark in his remaining right eye. "Even the excitement of getting caught by the teachers wouldn't keep us from going. In fact, it only made it more stimulating, as I rammed into-"
"That's enough, Akabayashi-san. We don't want to hear about your sexual escapades from your youth," Shiki snapped.
The man in the red suit apologized, though he didn't sound earnest at all. Akabayashi returned his attention to the young informant, "Tell your Omega friend to be careful." Izaya just nodded, and as he brushed past him, he thought he heard him whisper, "Watch yourself, informant-kun."
Shizuo pinched the bridge of his nose, as he closed his eyes, trying to catch some sleep, but the boy sitting beside him wouldn't stop talking. "Shizuo-kun, when will you let me dissect you?" The blond chose to ignore him, moving his head away from the Beta to face the window. He didn't really want to go on this field trip, but his younger brother managed to convince him that he should spend some time with his friends. Shizuo didn't have many friends, and when he made one, his friend was interested only in dissecting him. "Nee nee, Shizuo-kun. Do you think Celty would be fit to be an Omega? I know it's impossible for a non-human, but I really want to see her be submissive sometimes. Ah, but being an Alpha would suit her more, right? She's already strong and cool, I don't mind being the bottom as long as it's with my beloved Celty~!"
"Your perverted fantasies are being heard by the whole class, Shinra," a familiar voice suddenly chimed in and Shizuo's eyebrow instantly twitched. Out of all the bus seats, they just had to place the flea in front of him. It would have been a really bad idea to cause a commotion inside a moving vehicle, so Shizuo had to remain calm until the next stop. He tried to focus on watching the scenery outside, but it stank so much, and the louse was smiling creepily from above his seat. "I didn't expect Shizu-chan to join us. How's the monster feeling today? Any motion sickness? 'Cause Shizu-chan looks like shit."
The blond immediately sprang from his seat and grabbed Izaya's collar. "Who are you calling shit? You shitty flea! I'm gonna rip off your he-" Shizuo didn't finish his sentence before he felt the bile in the back of his throat. He ended up hurling beside his seatmate, throwing up everything he had eaten this morning. He heard Shinra screaming in horror for a barf bag, and Izaya laughing hysterically like a mad man. This journey wouldn't be easy with the flea around and they still hadn't arrived to their destination yet. Shizuo groaned.
Izaya was still up in his seat, until his seatmate told him to sit down properly and stop provoking the blond Alpha further. He obediently complied, and turned his attention instead to the other boy. "Nee nee, Dota-chin. Can you lend me your shoulder?" Izaya asked sweetly. Like Shizu-chan, Kadota Kyohei was an Alpha and well-respected among his peers. He had the quality of a leader that many Betas sought and it had earned him some followers and a small gang led by him. Kadota also didn't look half-bad, and his attributes made him quite popular among Omegas.
If you asked Izaya who he would go for, he would definitely choose him. At least, that's what his other self preferred.
"I told you to stop calling me that, no wonder Shizuo doesn't like you," Kadota said instead, ignoring his earlier request.
"I don't need Shizu-chan to like me, but Dota-chin doesn't really hate it when I call him Dota-chin, right?" Izaya continued to tease.
"Will you shut up if I lend you my shoulder?" Kadota sighed in defeat, and the other boy cheered in triumph as he scooted closer to lean his head onto the Alpha's shoulder. The brunet's scent quickly invaded his nose. Dota-chin smelled of ink and wash paintings. Like how Shizu-chan smelled of strawberry milk, and Shiki and Akabayashi of metal and blood. Izaya had noticed that a person's habit affected their scent, and that, in this way, you could easily distinguish someone's character. "You don't stink like Shizuo said."
Izaya quickly looked up at him, catching his attention. "Of course, I don't. I'm a bit offended, Dota-chin."
Kadota apologized to him, and Izaya was really curious about what the other had said. "How do I smell?" he asked, and the brunet scratched the side of his cheek in thought. Izaya had been wondering about this for a while. He couldn't smell himself, like how he did to others, though he could pick up his own scent – it's just that he didn't smell like anything.
It was rather hard to explain, but there was no scent to identify him aside from that Omegan Stench. If he smelled like coffee, of his favorite Ootoro sushi, or maybe even of strawberry milk like Shizu-chan.
"Well, you don't really stink, if that's what you're worried about. Honestly, you reek of expensive perfume, just how many bottles did you use?" Kadota asked, and let out a light sneeze.
Izaya just chuckled. "Enough to annoy Shizu-chan." More than enough to hide myself from the likes of you.
There were many kinds of suppressants today, ranging from cologne, lotion, deodorant, shampoo, soap bars, detergent, and of course, medication. Izaya spent hours searching on the internet, until he stumbled upon that miracle drug from Russia. He knew he could just get suppressants anywhere here, but considering their country's low birth rate and pro-fertility government, they weren't strong enough to completely conceal someone's scent.
"You're a Beta like Kishitani, right? Betas usually don't emit any kind of special scents like Alphas or Omegas. Although, they can also pick up scents, but only faintly," Kadota explained.
"I already know about that, but how about Omegas? Can they smell themselves? Are they able to discern their own scent?"
"I don't really know, and aren't you the smart one between us? You're the information broker, and what's with the sudden interest?" Kadota asked rather curiously.
"I may be smart, but I'm not an Alpha like Dota-chin. And of course, I would be interested if it's regarding my beloved humans," Izaya replied in his usual response, and the brunet Alpha just sighed tiredly. The young informant had already equipped himself before he decided to join this school trip. It was only three days, and two nights, so what could possibly go wrong?