Chapter Three: Can A Heart Learn To Forgive?
The streets of Ikebukuro glowed brightly as the sun went down, people still scrambling about as the sounds of cars driving by and people talking about everything they could think of was heard. It was a normal evening, but for how much longer?
A young woman walked alongside her raven haired companion, hands in her pockets as she adjusted her sunglasses. She hadn't said a word in quite some time, her eyes watching the ground as she walked along silently. A headphone placed in her ear, she listened to the rather depressing music she had downloaded the night before.
"Well this is boring." The male spoke up, finally breaking the silence. His crimson eyes glanced down at his side where the young woman was, watching her movements carefully. His hands were placed in his pockets as well, fumbling with something that he was hiding from her.
"It's always boring. There's nothing to do in Ikebukuro." She sighed, her voice quiet and almost impossible to hear. "Izaya, I need to talk to you."
"Oh? About what exactly?" He stopped walking to turn and face her, his eyes locked with her deep blue ones. Odd for her family, or at least he thought it made her unique.
"I.. I'm moving to America in the morning." She whispered, looking away. "I got the recording deal, and they want me to start right away. I was hoping yo-"
"So you're leaving, huh?" His voice was slightly quiet as he looked away from her, staring out at the road.
"I was hoping you'd come with me. I don't want to lea-"
"There's nothing out there for me. You know that." He muttered.
"Izaya, couldn't you just give it a try? With the money I'll be making, we'll be fine out there. I know we will. Sure, it'll be a bit hard because we're Japanese but still!"
"Kai, go live out your dream."
"Izaya.. C'mon, please?" She watched as he began walking away from her and she could feel the tears forming in her eyes. "D-Don't do this.."
"Just go.." He whispered. "You're going to do it anyway."
Kai glared at him, grabbing his arm. "That's not true! How can you say that?" She snapped.
"Let go of me." He demanded, pulling his hands out of his pockets and gently pushing her away.
"Why are you doing this? Why can't you just come with me?"
"Kai, stop it."
"No! This isn't right... You know it isn-"
"Stop it!" He snapped, taking a step away from her. "You're already leaving so just go!"
"Izaya.. I... You know I'd stay with you!"
"Kai Hayashi, you mean absolutely nothing to me. I needed someone who could be played as a pawn in this little game of mine, and who better to fit that part than yourself. I no longer require your services, so get lost." He growled, turning his back to her. He didn't want to see the look on her face as he spoke.
"Y-You don't mean that.. Tell me that's not true!"
"You heard me. I don't know how I managed to put up with a whiny little bitch like you. Damn it, you're so annoying. I used you! What part of that don't you understand?" He snapped.
"Turn around and say that to my face. Look me in the eye and tell me I meant nothing to you." She growled, taking a step towards him. "Izaya, do it. If you truly mean that, then turn around and do it."
Izaya paused for a moment before turning to face her. His eyes met hers, with great difficulty, and he smirked. It was hard to keep a straight face with her as he watched the pained expression that began to form before he spoke. "Kai Hayashi, you mean nothing to me. I used you from the very beginning, now get the fuck out of my face." He growled, pushing her away again.
"Izaya Orihara, I will make you regret ever fucking with me. You slimy, two-faced, god damn son of a bitch!" Kai snapped, punching him hard in the face. She watched him hit the pavement as tears formed in her eyes, shaking her head. "I can't believe I ever fell in love with you!" She shouted, running off down the road as tears ran down her cheeks.
Izaya watched her leave, his hand closed around the object that he had hidden in his pocket. Standing up, he glanced down at the silver ring and swore he felt his heart break. "It was for the best, Kai. I'm sorry.." He whispered, placing it back into his pocket as he walked off down the street.
Shizuo watched the last bit of their arguement, fighting the urge to run after her. He knew them both from school, and he had been good friends with Kai. She wasn't afraid of him like everyone else, and she never did anything to make him mad. She had managed to calm him down once, protecting Izaya but he found he couldn't get mad with her standing in the way. "Izaya!" He shouted, walking behind the man he swore to kill.
"Fuck off Shizuo." Izaya snapped, turning to look back at him with a deadly look in his eyes. "I'm not in the mood. Go find someone else to throw shit at." And with that, Izaya was gone.
Kai leaned back in her chair, glaring at the ceiling as she heard Shizuo rustling about in the kitchen. She couldn't take her mind off the thoughts that were stuck there. Part of her had hoped that when she came back to Ikebukuro, she'd be ready to face him if he was still here but the other part of her wished that she could just beat him until there was nothing left. In the back of her mind, she knew that she could easily get even with him; Izaya Orihara.
"Hey, do you have an-"
"Top shelf in the pantry."
"..Thanks." And he was back to rustling about in the kitchen, trying to cook dinner for her, but her house was a little distracting. Maybe it was the house, but it could have also been the tension or that angry feeling that hung in the air. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but if he knew her, he knew what she'd do and he didn't agree for one reason; he would kill Izaya himself.
"I'm thinking of going out later."
"Where to?"
"I don't know."
"Did you want company?"
"Sure."
"What exactly are you going to do?"
"I don't know."
"Then why are you going out?"
"I just feel like it."
"Dinner's ready."
"Thanks."
The streets were the same as they always were, nothing changed. It was different, but nothing that phased her. Kai's eyes moved from face to face, almost as if she was expecting something, before she stopped walking.
"Shizuo.." She muttered, breaking the silence.
His blue eyes moved to the young girl beside him, his hands firmly kept in his pockets as he turned a bit to face her. "What is it?"
"Should I have come back?"
He paused at her question. In all honesty, he didn't have an answer to it. He knew she had family here, that her sister was one of the most important people in her life, and that she would do anything for her. "I don't have an answer."
"I find myself wondering why I came back. It hurts.. This whole city seems to burn a hole into the little piece of a soul and heart I have left, and it hurts.."
"Is that how you feel?"
"I felt so happy when I first got off that plane. Seeing my sister and my parents was the only thing I could think of. Hell, I never stoppped talking to her while I was gone, but it was when I thought I saw him... those wounds never healed, his words still haunt my mind and I'll never forget how badly I wanted to ki-"
"Stop." Shizuo's voice was cold as he snapped her back to reality, taking a step forward towards the man he hated with a burning passion. "You should leave."
"W-what?" She looked up to find Shizuo walking towards Izaya, and instantly she felt her heart stop. Her body froze as she felt the pain once again. "N-no.." She whispered.
"Shizu-chan. I don't have time for this." Izaya smirked, his hands in his pockets. "I have something that I need to do so get out of my way." He didn't notice the girl standing behind his rival as he fumbled with his knife.
"I'll kill you." Shizuo growled as he took another step forward, but he stopped as he felt something pull him back.
"I won't hold back any longer." Kai whispered, moving in front of Shizuo and glaring at Izaya. "I think you and I need to have a chat, Orihara."
His eyes widened as he looked at the young woman, frozen at the name she used. He remembered that she only ever called him by his last name when she was right pissed, and because of the inhuman strength and abilities she possessed... that was something he had always been a tad bit afraid of.
"ORIHARA!" A voice screamed as Izaya bolted out of the room, sliding around the corner.
"Onii-chan?" A young girl called as she watched her older brother. She had never really seen him frightened of anything but when she heard someone coming down the hall, her eyes moved towards the sound.
"Where is he?" The woman growled, her arms folded over her chest. "Did he take off like always?"
"I don't know. I think he went downstairs." She whispered, seeming a tad bit frightened of her.
"ORIHARA! GET OUT HERE!" She screamed again, bolting down the hall and stopping at the top of the stairs. "He's not down there. He wouldn't be stupid enou-"
A pair of arms wrapped around her, smirking as he kissed the back of her neck. "Calm down, would you? There's no reas-"
CRACK!
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She snapped, standing up straight as she looked at Izaya who was now flat against the wall. "I swear that I'll.."
"Jesus, you could take on Shizu-chan with a swing like that." Izaya muttered, rubbing his chin as he stood up.
"What could we possibly need to talk about? Is this where you hit me like you did last time?" Izaya muttered, leaning back against a building. His eyes moved to Shizuo who was still standing with them. "Don't you have something else to do?"
"Don't worry about him. He's the least of your problems." Kai snapped, taking a step forward. "It's a shame I didn't break that jaw of yours when I had the chance."
"Well, isn't that a crying shame?" He muttered.
"Don't get cocky with me, Orihara, or I'll rip that throat of yours right out." She growled, standing rather close to him.
"I can see why you and Shizu-chan are such good friends. Your rage must keep you two ver-"
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Kai snarled, slamming him against the wall by his throat. "I wasn't kidding."
"Would you just tell me what the hell you want? I'm having a hard enough time just being here." Izaya growled.
"And why is that? Are you suddenly feeling guilty about what you did to me? Geez, and here I thought you didn't feel a thing when you tore my heart out. Hell, maybe you should have just stomped on it while you were at it." She growled, slamming him back again with more force. "I really should kill you."
"Go ahead, but you don't know fuck all about how I feel." He muttered, grabbing her wrist and shoving her away from him lightly. He couldn't hurt her, not physically.
"Oh I don't, do I? Then why don't you fill me in on ho-" She stopped when her eyes caught sight of the silver ring on a chain around his neck. "Is that.."
"The ring you pointed out to me? Yeah, that's exactly what this is. I've had it since the night you left." He growled as he took a step forward. "So don't ever tell me I didn't feel a thing when I said that shit to you."
"I really will fucking kill you."
"Then go right ahead, but before you do, let me tell you this. You really are an idiot. Only a moron would believe that shit that I said, especially the woman who I spilled my very BEING out to."
"Fuck off." She growled, taking a step back.
"You only have yourself to blame, Kai Hayashi. Do you really think that if I hadn't said those things that you would have gone and done what you really wanted to do? How long did you talk to me about becoming a pop artist? You had the opportunity and would have given it up for someone like me. Think about that when you decide you really want to kill me." He growled, ripping the necklace off and tossing it at her feet. "You can keep it. It was originally yours anyways."
Kai watched him walk away, her eyes on his back before they moved to the ring and chain that lay at her feet. She blinked, bending down to pick it up and shook her head. "Shizuo.. go beat him senseless. You look like it's killing you." She whispered.
"With pleasure." He smirked, running off after Izaya.
"Izaya Orihara, can I really hate you now that I know the truth?" She whispered, putting the chain around her neck and slipping the ring on her finger. "Or will my heart forgive you?"
