Izaya was tangled in Mikado's bedsheets and tumbled off of the mattress with a loud thump. "Oi, Mikado!" He called, but the boy was already out the door. His mind still felt cloudy as he was still blissed out from last night. The heat that had consumed his entire body yesterday was no longer nearly as bothersome as it was before. A knot twisted in his stomach in…what was this…worry? Izaya had never worried about a human his entire life. Though, now, he was finding that he was.

The demon ripped the blankets off of himself, shredding the fabric with his sharp nails out of frustration. Mikado wouldn't be happy with that. Izaya wasn't concerned, though. He'd probably just pay for it himself and get a better blanket. He didn't really understand the need for blankets anyway. They were more of a nuisance than anything.

He pulled on his clothes, not really caring about the fact that they were rumpled and wrinkled from last night. He slipped on his shoes and followed Mikado. He wasn't entirely sure about what Mikado's plan was, considering that his drunken stupor last night had put his brain out of commission for awhile. But, there were scattered bits and pieces coming back to him.

A part of Izaya hoped that the demon hunter didn't do anything stupid, like take the demon that they'd talked about last night head on.

Already Mikado had managed to speed walk all the way to his destination, considering how many demons he's already killed, he was already able to pick up on the energy of ones around him. It didn't take long for him to spot the guy out, hell this guy looked as if he wasn't even trying to hide his energy. Along with the fact that Izaya wasn't here to make a witty comment and the fact this guy was actually alone unlike most demons who surround themselves in human presence, this was the perfect chance to strike.

Pulling out his knife and turning it ever so slightly in his hand he approached the demon with no fear, well a little fear, he was fighting a demon after all and a hell of a good one at that, but Mikado figured he might as well take the powerful ones out as soon as possible. That's reasonable. Without a single word he rushed the man, but without warning the demon turned and hit him straight into a wall.

What was that? Mikado could of sworn he was quiet as possible, how did he hear him. Aiming for the guy again he struck out with the knife, instantly being grabbed by the collar and slammed harshly against the wall again. "You're desire smells delightful…" the demon spoke up, face getting oddly too close to Mikados'. 'What?!' He couldn't scream, partially out of the fact he had the breath knocked out of him and the other part well he wasn't going to admit he was terrified. He quickly shot his arm up, stabbing the other in the gut, but that had almost no effect on him. What was this? That blade was covered in holy water. The demon merely laughed at this attempt, 'shit' he was in trouble. The demon used it's free hand to not so tenderly yank at his chin and lock lips with him, inhaling his desire at an alarming rate. Mikado's hand was shaking so badly he dropped his blade, eyes slammed shut and feeling more and more weak by the second.

"Mikado, you idiot…" Izaya growled through clenched teeth. Stupid teenagers. Stupid humans. They believed that they were invincible. Kill a few demons, and suddenly they think they can take on the world. Pure idiocy. Izaya knew better. In fact, he hoped he could get to Mikado to get him to realize that he was outmatched. Holy water, while it worked on nearly all demons, with training, some demons could handle very small amounts of resistance to it. Especially if the holy water was diluted and indirect.

Such a demon was Takaeda Morita.

Izaya knew the risk of picking a fight with the other demon, who was a demon of revenge. A derived form of desire. Not to mention that Takaeda had his own little posse that could potentially cause some issues for the broker. Not that Izaya really cared. However, Takaeda could feed off of the same thing that Izaya could, but it wouldn't give him the same kind of pleasure or high that it did for Izaya. Neither could it fill him nearly as much.

It didn't help that Takaeda loved to put his filthy little hands on things that didn't belong to him. Izaya had made sure he got the point the last time the other had fucked with one of the broker's playthings.

So when Izaya saw Mikado pinned up against the wall by Takaeda, he couldn't help but smile, even though rage seemed to consume his entire being.

"Oi, Takaeda…" He said lowly, knowing that the other could hear him. "You're not putting your dirty lips on my toys, are you?" Izaya walked closer, his fists clenched. "That's definitely not what you're doing, am I right?"

"Because you'd have to be an idiot if you did that!" Izaya chuckled at first, but it turned into pure laughter. Shrill and manic. "You'd- You'd have to be a giant fucking fool if you were doing that, am I right?!" The broker grasped the other demon by the jacket and forcefully pulled him away from Mikado, even though he'd long since stopped feeding off of the boy's desire.

His smile disappeared in an instant. Takaeda looked terrified, his whole body trembling. Izaya would've smiled, but the murderous rage that poured through his veins is what fueled him now. The other demon tried to apologize, but soon shut up his whimpering as the shadows around Izaya seemed to curl around him like hungry vipers. "Ne…Takaeda…you're not nose-blind, are you?"

"N-No, Izaya-sama…" The other demon choked out, paralyzed by fear.

"Oh, you're absolutely sure you're not?" Izaya cracked his knuckles. "Well, then…"

Izaya's knuckles were suddenly buried into Takaeda's nose, a loud crack that seemed to echo throughout the room followed, and black blood gushed from the wound. Takaeda cried out in pain as he was literally pushed back by the force of Izaya's punch and into a wall. He was strong, but nowhere nearly as strong as Shizuo when it came to brute strength. Izaya always liked to use his shadows to help him.

"Did that hurt?" He asked, though he didn't wait for a response. The shadowy cobras that seemed to wrap themselves around Izaya's body obediently grasped Takaeda by the feet and dragged the injured demon back to Izaya. He felt a small sense of satisfaction by watching the other grovel at his feet, begging for mercy. "Well, brace yourself for more… I'm going to burn you into ashes. Inside and out."

The broker tightened the grasp of the shadowy tendrils, and they twisted tighter and tighter, like a boa constrictor. He let out a small huff of contentment as he heard the other's demon's bones snap like chips. He let the shadows crunch down on their snack until the demon wasn't able to even move anymore.

"P-Please! I-I'm sorry, Izaya-sama, I'm b-begging you, p-please sp-sp-are me!"

"Did I say you could speak, vermin?" Izaya cocked his head to the side, as if he were offended by the mere notion of the demon even thinking about talking.

"No, I didn't. So shut up." Izaya walked away for a moment, over to Mikado's collapsed body and fished around in the boy's pockets for the vial of holy water he knew the human carried on him. "Sorry, Mikado-kun, I'll have to borrow this. You won't be getting it back." He winked, but then walked back over to Takaeda, who was crying pitifully. "Oi, oi, quiet down, now." The other demon refused to silence his wails. Izaya shook the bottle in front of Takaeda, making sure he could see it and hear the slosh of the potent liquid inside, and he slowly twisted off the cap.

With a sigh, Izaya sauntered over to Takaeda and jammed the open bottle of holy water down the demon's throat. "I warned you before, didn't I? You just didn't listen." Takaeda's muffled screams were like music to Izaya's ears. But it wasn't enough. The broker raised his foot and stepped on the end of the bottle, forcing it deeper into the other demon's throat.

"Did the bottle break yet?" He asked, peering down at the other. "Hm, I guess not. Maybe a few more…" Izaya stamped on the bottle until it shattered in Takaeda's mouth and used his shadows to clamp the other's jaw shut and swallow the glass fragments as best as he could. The other demon was practically choking on blood. Izaya could hear the gurgle of blood and holy water in his throat.

"Alright, well, I suppose I'll put you out of your misery…" The broker snapped his fingers, and the shadows that had bound and held Takaeda turned into noxious fire that ate away at the other demon's flesh. Takaeda's screams soon ceased. Izaya sighed to himself, pleased with his handiwork and glad that that annoyance was dealt with. He breathed in the smell of burning flesh with a small sense of pride washing over him.

He rushed over to Mikado and hoisted the boy's small form into his arms bridal style. "He didn't happen to hurt you, did he, Mikado-kun?" His smile as easy-going as ever. There was a part of him that wondered if he should've stopped himself long ago, to prevent Mikado from having nightmares.

Another part of him said that Mikado enjoyed it.

"Oi. This is our little secret, okay? I'm positive you can make sure it stays like that."

Mikado fell to the ground when the other demon was finally pulled away, he didn't even hear Izaya's voice or see him through the little bit of vision he had left. The only strength he had was to barely hold himself up against the wall. Izaya was angry from what he could tell at least the anger Izaya liked to show with maniacal laughter and humor he supposed. Mikado almost managed a glare when he noticed the broker taking the vile of holy water out of his pocket and slamming it down the other demon's throat like there was easy access to that stuff. The entire bottle gone just like that, he ignored that, watching this horrifying scene before him, he was definitely going to have many nightmares after today.

"Izay…" He tried muttering out when he saw the demon walking over almost in a to calm of a state after the scene he just pulled. Honestly, the look in Izaya's eyes were enough to send the boy running if it wasn't for the fact he felt like he had half his energy drained, all he could do was back farther into the wall before being lifted up bridal style which was a little embarrassing in itself. 'Did he hurt him?' It was pretty obvious by the battered look on the boys face and the newly found bruise marks on him, but it could have been worst. His eyes fanned over, noticing that they were most likely heading home, "Se-secret…?" Like this was a secret, or like he could say anything, no one sane enough would believe what just happened.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you feel better…" Izaya cooed, kissing Mikado on the forehead. "Remember, Mikado…you belong to me. You're mine just as much as I'm yours." He murmured. "Don't forget that, ne?" He earned a few odd stares from people, but, otherwise, for some reason, they seemed to ignore him. "Oi, idiot. Don't go demon-hunting for a little while. Not for demons like that." He murmured. His worry was horribly concealed. He wasn't even sure why he was worried.

Probably because he could've lost his favorite toy.

Needless to say, he was a little attached. "I won't be there to save you every time." Izaya relished in the warmth from Mikado's body that radiated from the boy. Demons were typically cold blooded. Warmth was a hard thing to come by. "I'll give you money and show you where you can get more holy water around here." He paused for a moment. "And buy you some new bedsheets." He added cheerfully.

Izaya didn't particularly like the idea that his favorite human seemed to be a little apprehensive towards him. What happened to that bold attitude that the demon had gotten addicted to? Or the dominance that the human displayed before?

He kind of missed it.

He belonged to Izaya, now that was something, he almost forgot about the whole contract thing between the two. Mikado wasn't going to let this happen again anyway, protection from a demon? It was almost enough to make the boy sick if he wasn't feeling sick and nauseous already. Watching all the people nearby he couldn't help but feel like he was the object of attention for everyone around. Totally ignoring the comment about the bed sheets considering he had almost no energy to be mad about it, especially after what Izaya just did for him, or what he did for himself.

Later that night, Mikado tossed and turned as his dreams became nightmares, he was practically in a cold sweat. The images of several demons surrounding him with frightening looks in their eyes. He couldn't get away. The demon known as Izaya just stood by and watched, not helping him like he said earlier. Running away he couldn't help, but feel like he was running slower and slower, the red eyes of his demon companion only floating over and watching him. The runway came to a dead end as he ran smack dab against the wall. Dead end! What was he going to do? He slammed his arms against the wall hoping it would budge, but before he knew it he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. The snake on his wrist began moving up causing Mikado to scream in desperation, the black marking raising off his skin and prepared itself to strike, but right before it bit him square in the face-

"Ahhh-!" Mikado sat up quickly, screaming out in desperation with his eyes still slammed closed. It's just a dream right? He looked around the pitch black room frantically looking for any sign of other demons before his eyes shot down at his wrist. The snake was still there, untouched, and not moving much to his relief, but it still didn't stop him from curling into a ball and shaking.

Izaya drifted in through the window. Normally, at night when Mikado slept, the demon would venture out and do some business. It wasn't as if Izaya could really sleep anyway. He'd always been a light sleeper. The demon didn't know what brought him back to Mikado after their earlier escapade, but something had prompted him. A nagging sensation in his gut.

Suddenly, here he was.

He quietly loomed over Mikado, not daring to make a single noise. Izaya wasn't even sure if he'd even dared to breathe. He floated above the boy, frozen. He simply observed, and waited for Mikado to notice that the shadows above him had shifted slightly, as if they were welcoming the demon's presence.

So the boy had had nightmares.

Well, that wouldn't do.

The demon drifted downwards slowly, like a feather. He gently sat down next to Mikado, knowing that his sudden presence would startle the boy. Instead of saying anything, he wordlessly met Mikado's eyes. It wasn't like Izaya to be so quiet or gentle. The broker wrapped his arms around the boy's curled up form and suddenly hugged the boy close.

He didn't understand why he was doing this. He didn't understand its implications or effects on the boy. He just felt it was right, somehow. Izaya relished the human's natural warmth. His skin was cold, especially since he'd been outside, wandering the streets doing god knows what at this hour. The demon purposefully masked his natural appearance and shifted to his human form, the red in his eyes dimming to a whiskey brown.

Before he could really stop himself, Izaya was planting kisses on Mikado's forehead, then his cheeks. He was wiping away the boy's tears and kissing away his worries, and he didn't understand why.

He knew for a fact that this certainly wasn't love. Demons couldn't love.

The boy did not see or hear the demon come in, his mind racing with thoughts as his eyes paced from his wrist back to the darkly lit room. It was a dumb notion to think that there were other demons in his room, he couldn't be that infamous among the demons yet, but still he was shaking with his eyes focused in the center of his bed not wanting to look up. His eyes suddenly jolted up in a quick glance, eyes meeting red ones that slowly shifted to a more calming pair of brown orbs. Izaya? He looked questioningly, terror still filling his eyes, he started to notice the other was no longer in his demon form. Did he really change just for Mikado? No, that couldn't make sense, he knew Izaya was just using him, wasn't he?

Questioning what was going on he got pulled in causing his skin to jump internally,was this affection? This didn't make any sense. Demons can't show affection or even if they did they wouldn't show it to a human like him. The kisses along his face nearly got him to calm down before he piped up but still in a whisper, "N-no…" He grumbled not really attempting to pull away, but giving a half hearted attempt to stop, "You can't have any desire right now…"

Although he watched as the broker did everything but try to kiss his lips which was strange, his desire wasn't being taken. Was this Izaya actually showing general caring? Mikado started to fidget with uncertainty, but didn't make a full on attempt to stop the other. He just began to loosen the ball he made of himself enough to where he could be pulled into the other better. "Izaya…" He murmured just slightly to the point of almost noise at all but sounding almost a sweet tone until it turned into glaring " Get off ….you're freezing."

Izaya smiled softly against Mikado's warm skin as he felt the boy put his feeble hands against his chest in protest. "I don't want desire, Mikado-kun…" He purred, nuzzling against the human. He decided not to elaborate any further, since he didn't have a very clear understanding himself. He liked to feel Mikado relax against him. If possible, the demon seemed to pull him even closer.

How ironic was it that a demon would want to be a guardian angel?

He certainly didn't fit the role at all, he thought, as Mikado spoke again. "Ehhhh? I come in here to comfort you and now you're complaining?" Izaya pulled away for a moment, only to pout at the boy. "I can't help my nature, Mikado-kun! Demons are biologically cold-blooded! How could you be so cruel?" Instead of getting off of Mikado like the human had requested, Izaya instead cuddled the boy even closer.

"How about you warm me up instead, ne?" He said, all mirth suddenly disappearing from his tone. He seemed very somber instead. Izaya kissed along Mikado's neck even more, even daring to dart his tongue out for a quick swipe just to tease the boy.

Clearly the broker was going to be offended, but did he have to make it worst on Mikado by freezing him too. "Iza-" he nearly shrieked out feeling the cold get worst when he was pulled in "Warm yourse-!" another smaller shriek was heard when he felt the demons cold tongue slid across his neck making him shiver and not in a good way. He nearly flung himself away if it wasn't for the fact that Izaya was proceeding to pull him closer, he was starting to feel the cold even worst than before. Seeing as how he was sure the broker wasn't going to free him because he probably took this as another challenge, Mikado yanked the blanket and threw it over them to prevent even more cold from getting in. His glare was dead set on the other man who he could barely see now under the covers, he felt his nose getting cold but his face heating up non stop from the small kisses still being placed on him and him just sitting through it all reluctantly. The most defense he had was putting his hand on the others face in a light pushing motion.

Why did Izaya make this hell on him? Oh wait- because that's where this demon was from, still didn't mean he had to act so cruel like this. "When did I agree to be your personal warmer huh?" he said in a gentle tone that was still completely aggravated.

Izaya cuddled up to Mikado, shameless in wrapping all of his limbs around the boy, practically ensnaring him. Typically, he wasn't a very touchy-feely person, but Mikado's desire had affected him. He'd grown attached. Soft, maybe? Izaya doubted that last part as soon as the question had popped into his head. He kissed Mikado's nose and his cheeks again, ready to shower him in affection.

"You know, the only person you should be mad at is yourself…" The demon hummed. "After all, you're the one who indebted yourself to me." He kept his cool lips pressed against Mikado's throat.

"Besides, you're much better than a heater!" Izaya added, suddenly breaking out into a smile that he knew Mikado could feel. "Is there something wrong with me cuddling you, Mikado-kun?" He knew there was, but it didn't stop him from asking anyway.

Izaya had managed to wrap around his entire body, feeling the cold almost slowly die down, but not enough for him to be happy with the broker. His eyes kept their glare, he was indebted to him, but he didn't think that meant he'd find a demon in bed with him in the middle of the night. He groaned loudly out of aggravation, preparing to speak up for himself when he was halted by his own train of thoughts, it wasn't like the demon was going to play by the rules right? The demon was going to do or say anything he wanted to whether or not there was a contract involved. Without much hesitation he let the other kiss his neck, Izaya was doing him a favor, the boy didn't have to be alone especially after that bad of a nightmare. Even if he was as cold as the icebergs in Antarctica, it felt nice in a strange way to him. The 'nice' feeling would of continued if just just didn't feel that smirk on his neck, if the other would of just kept quiet.

"You know very well there is something wrong…" He growled out, but once again wasn't stopping the onslaught of kisses on his neck. The only good thing that was really coming from this is he wasn't scared anymore, probably from the amount of cold he felt or the fact he felt protected if even by a little bit. Leaning his head against the demon he sighed with a bit of relief, he was scared, but at least for tonight everything would be okay at least and with that his breathing slowed down as he fell asleep up right against the Izaya.

Izaya didn't know how long he spent watching the flutter of Mikado's eyelashes or the listened to his rhythmic breathing. Somewhere along the line, the demon finally drifted off to sleep, a blessing in his case. Demons were creatures of the night, and for Izaya in particular, he never really slept. He'd always had insomnia and was also an extremely light sleeper. There was always too much commotion in the world. The hustle and bustle of the millions of humans with their funny little lives.

Demons don't dream.

The broker was surprised when he awoke to sunlight shining down on him. His eyes fluttered open and he felt well-rested. He glanced around in a daze, a little confused until he managed to remember last night. Quietly, and as gently as he could, Izaya disentangled himself from Mikado. Sometime in the night, he'd shifted back to his demon form subconsciously. Not that he really cared. It felt more natural, more free to him.

He stretched out his wings, being careful not to actually break anything in Mikado's room. The boy would scold him if he did. He yawned and shuffled over to the tiny kitchen, folding his wings back up with a small flutter.

Izaya didn't realize he'd spent ten minutes looking in the fridge idly, his mind still a fog from waking up. Sleep wasn't something that the demon particularly enjoyed. Quickly he peeked over to the human's sleeping form and then back to the fridge. There wasn't much, but, Izaya could probably make something for the human to eat whenever he decided to wake up.

What day was today? Saturday? Humans didn't have school on weekends. So, at the very least, Mikado didn't have to be up right now.

Cue half an hour later and a nearly burnt down kitchen, Izaya managed to make some form of edible breakfast for Mikado. Somewhat satisfied with his work, the demon shuffled over to the window, straightening out his clothes. Mikado probably didn't want to wake up with him here again, he thought. He was halfway out the apartment window when he barely caught Mikado calling his name.

Not hearing or even feeling the other move away Mikado continued to sleep until he eventual was awoken by a different smell filling his apartment, his eyes opened glancing around. It almost smelled like mixture of burnt food and shame. His eyes maneuvered as he laid in the bed, in a haphazardly curled up position, watching as the broker was about to leave out through the window. Where was he going? Not like he cared, but Izaya didn't have to be sneaky about leaving.

"I- Izaya…" The boy spoke up, not even bothering to raise his voice above a mumble as he sat up on the bed using one arm his other hand rubbing at his eye. He really didn't even know what time it was, to be honest the boy couldn't even remember what had happened that night. "When did yo-" and then it hit him like a bag of bricks, once again he was caught in a weak moment, in front of this specific demon no less. He was ashamed, but at the same time maybe the other wouldn't necessarily bring it up. Mikado was so tired of looking so weak.

His eyes glanced back over to the kitchen and then back at Izaya, "Di-did you make food izaya?" He was honestly curious, but at the same time he was probably going to snicker at a demon making him breakfast. "That's nice of you ya know…." he blinked, smiling softly but with a glint in his eyes preparing to ruin another moment, "As long as it's not poisoned.

Izaya rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "You really are a terrible romantic, you know that?" He hopped back into the apartment from the windowsill. "Yes, I made you food, brat." The demon closed the open window. Remembering Mikado's state of mind last night, he concentrated on appearing human instead of his actual demon form. "If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it a long time ago." He says, lounging in Mikado's chair at his desk. He sits on it backwards, his legs oddly sticking out the sides as he rests his chin on the back of it.

"I could've hired another demon to do it. Or a simple hitman." He shrugged. It was evident that Izaya didn't take waking up very well. He wasn't his usual cheery self at all. "Point being," He said, spinning around in the chair slightly. "I can't really hurt you or kill you since we're bound by a contract." He pulled down his sleeve and showed his marking.

"Anyway, it's nothing big. I just made something out of what you had in your kitchen." Izaya rolled his shoulders, his muscles tense. He eyed Mikado for a moment. "Did you want me to bring it to you so you could have breakfast in bed like the spoiled human you are?"

Izaya did have to be a complete jerk, when Mikado was just trying to joke around with him. He really didn't understand common humor did he? Giving off a loud sigh he stood up, observing the other having way too much fun in his chair. "I don't need you to get me anything…" He rolled his eyes, obviously not enjoying the spoiled human comment, "What stepped on your tail so early in the morning?" He wasn't really asking, it was more of a different saying to 'you woke up in a bad mood.'

Even though he took the time to walk to the kitchen, he didn't directly go for the food, instead he pulled out the carton of milk and chugged straight out of the box. His eyes not leaving the man spinning in his chair. "You know if you don't want to be here you can just leave…" he groaned obviously not liking how the other was treating him, but he expected no less. Slowly but surely he mumbled under his breathe,

"Stupid demon…"

Izaya's ears twitched as he heard the human mumble under his breath. In a flash he appeared next to Mikado and was gripping the boy by his shirt. "You better hope I didn't hear what you said correctly…" Izaya said, his brow twitching in annoyance. The demon stared Mikado down for a moment before he let go and breathed in deeply.

"I think I'll take your advice for once." Izaya said through gritted teeth. Ungrateful brat. The demon didn't go out of his ways to do favors for just anyone. He wasn't generous or kind or anything of the sort whatsoever. He was a demon. He was naturally heartless, naturally uncaring, and naturally cold. He was a sociopath with a masochistic tendency.

He whirled around and walked towards the window again.

Stupid brat. He thought as he opened it and hopped out the window. He didn't bother saying goodbye as he did.