Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!
"So what's up?" Shizuo asked impatiently as the four settled in Shinra's lab room. The doctor had insisted that they take measures to prevent the informant from overhearing, just in case.
"Shizuo," the doctor began a little hesitantly, turning to him first, "did you happen to punch Izaya in the chest recently? Multiple times?"
"What?" the bodyguard exclaimed. "Multiple times? Don't you know how hard it is to hit the flea even once?"
"So no?" the doctor pressed on for a definite answer.
"Not recently at least," the other grumbled.
Shinra put a hand up to his chin in contemplation. "Thought so…"
"What's wrong?" Celty asked.
Shinra adjusted his glasses nervously. "Uh… Well, Izaya has multiple bruises on his chest. Small. So…" He really didn't want to probe, but it must mean something if it had driven Izaya to the point of disregarding his own health.
"So what? The flea's probably got a shitload of enemies. Maybe one or two just got to him," Shizuo growled, undisturbed.
"Do you think they're hickeys?" Celty offered her suggestion, making the doctor clap a hand to his head.
"Great minds think alike!" he said before grinning.
"What the hell, great minds?" Shizuo didn't bother lowering his voice, giving the word the Dullahan had typed a last horrified glance before rounding on Shinra. "You mean to tell me that you called a group meeting just to tell us that the flea has a girlfriend now?"
"Well, maybe this person has something to do with Izaya's current condition?" Shinra tried to reason.
"Shinra, why do I need to know that Izaya has a girlfriend who has been giving him hickeys? She probably just stressed him out so much that he got a cold. Serves him right…"
"Well… uh… I…" Shinra dug for a plausible answer. He honestly didn't see the relevance at the moment, but his gut feeling told him that it should have a connection with everything, somewhere.
"Maybe she'll end up killing him." They all turned to Psyche, who had been silently watching the discussion.
"Why would you say that?" Celty asked him.
"Oh!" Shinra realized that he had forgotten to tell his own girlfriend about that revelation he had on the situation. However, Shizuo spoke before he could relay the details to Celty.
"You mean, the flea dies in the future because of some woman?" the bodyguard asked, the volume of his voice considerably lower than before.
"No! No! I'm just saying that it's a possibility," Psyche replied. "I mean… the day's probably drawing near…"
"What do you mean, near?"
"Uh…" Psyche shrunk away from the three, starting to get nervous from all the added attention. "I… just… It's been getting colder."
"So it's true then," Shinra muttered.
"What's true?"
"Wait, so the flea really does die in the future? Is he that sick?" Shizuo interrupted Shinra's explanation to his girlfriend yet again.
"No… I don't think that was it…" Psyche said, trying to gather his own thoughts together.
"What? Then how does he die?" the bodyguard continued, making the other man shrink even further back.
"I don't…"
"Shizuo, I think Psyche doesn't have the answers to those questions yet," Shinra told the bodyguard, putting a hand on Shizuo's shoulder to calm him down. Psyche smiled in appreciation when the bodyguard sighed and scratched his head, leaning back on the wall.
"So back to waiting?" Shizuo asked.
Shinra sighed, a little frustrated himself. "Looks like it."
"Tch."
"Izaya dies in the future?"
"Ah, we're not sure, but…"Shinra started explaining to the Dullahan.
Shizuo looked at Psyche, who had shrunk into a corner, unwilling to take part in the conversation any further.
.
Shizuo entered the room, quietly closing the door behind him and locking it. Shinra had only dimmed the lights, so he could see the informant's outline clearly on the single bed in the room, the sheets rising and falling slowly.
The bodyguard studied the other's sleeping form: slightly blushed cheeks because of the fever and eyes closed a little too tightly like he was dreaming. Shizuo wondered if Izaya was even capable of having nightmares. Did he dream of all the people he had harmed? Were they ever anything to him? Or, was he dreaming about his supposed girlfriend dumping him? Shizuo shook his head, reminding himself what he was here for. After all, it had taken quite a lot of his patience to wait for the other three to preoccupy themselves before he could sneak into the informant's sickroom unnoticed.
'He's going to die anyway…' He frowned as he recalled the conversation.
Shizuo reached for the sleeping informant's throat, his hands shaky. It seemed like endless minutes before his fingertips finally found the other's neck; it surprised him how hot Izaya was. 'He must be running a pretty high fever,' he thought idly before dragging his thoughts back to the mission at hand. All it took was a few muscles, maybe about a second to snap the other's neck. He tensed. He could finally have revenge for all those past years of torture. He just had to…
Izaya suddenly opened his eyes a crack, and Shizuo found tired red eyes staring at him, like the flea knew exactly what was going on and accepted it. Then, something happened that stopped the bodyguard where he stood: Izaya smiled. It wasn't much of anything; the smile was small, content, and almost sad. Shizuo had been so used to the other's mocking grins that this new expression caught him by surprise. He drew his hands away just as quickly.
"Stop laughing at me!" he muttered the first explanation of the other's action that came to mind.
"I'm not," Izaya answered calmly, not bothering to sit up. He coughed a little before taking a deep breath.
"Then why are you smiling?"
"I thought you were going to kill me."
Shizuo could almost feel the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. "That's nothing to smile about!"
Izaya closed his eyes, the expression disappearing from his face. "I suppose not."
Shizuo regarded the informant for a moment before moving to the table and dragging the desk chair to the bedside. He sat down, telling himself that he could kill the flea anytime as long as he didn't leave the room and let the others know he was here.
"What are you doing?" the informant asked him through half-closed groggy eyes.
"Hearing you out."
This time Izaya did laugh. "Hearing me out? What am I supposed to confess?"
"I heard from the others. Are you sick?" Shizuo asked him.
"Isn't that obvious?"
"Cancer?"
"Having a fever doesn't mean I have cancer, Shizu-chan. Did Shinra say otherwise?"
Shizuo frowned, shaking his head no. "Then why would you…" he stopped, suddenly realizing that he was about to tell Izaya he would probably die in a few days or weeks. He admitted to himself that the entire idea of the flea dying soon brought the strangest feeling to his stomach. He didn't want Izaya to go yet, at least, not like this. The flea was supposed to die on the streets by his hand, not waste away in a hospital bed or get murdered by someone other than the bodyguard himself.
"Why would I what, Shizu-chan? Unleash Dullahans that would cause a war?"
Shizuo looked back at the other, not expecting this response. "You… were planning to?"
"No." Izaya chuckled. "It might be a possibility though. Life's just too boring these days."
Shizuo stood up, knocking the chair over in the process. "You monster!"
Izaya paused, seemingly surprised. "I'm surprised that you'd call me that. Aren't you the monster?"
"You think you can just play with human lives like this?"
"It's fun watching them react. Besides, it's not like I am any diff…"
"Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should!"
"Like you killing me?" Izaya replied easily.
"Well, I didn't!"
"Well, you should've."
Shizuo froze. "What?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Shizuo stared at him, not understanding.
Izaya sighed; to be honest, he didn't want to explain this much out of his own mouth. It only made it seem more logical than it already was. "Dullahans come, and I die. Don't you think those two events are somehow related?"
"Wait, how do you know that…"
"Why would Shinra create a clone of me if I was still alive?"
"Uh…" Shizuo had forgotten that the other could easily formulate conclusions without being told.
Izaya turned away from him, pulling the covers over his head. "I love humans, Shizu-chan. They should love me back."
"Tch. As if they could ever love someone like you back."
Izaya grinned. "Once again, you've said something logical. Now answer me this, why are you still here?"
"Shut up flea. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I should kill you."
Izaya sighed, closing his eyes. "Well, then please wait until I'm asleep. I'd prefer not to feel it."
Shizuo stared at the other for a little longer before finally leaving, deciding that he'd kill the flea later when he was healthier and in his usual sadistic persona. "Maybe in a week," he told himself, hoping that Psyche's prediction of the informant's death wasn't any earlier than that.
.
"Oh, thank you for coming!" Shinra said, letting Shizuo into his apartment.
The bodyguard yawned, irritated that the doctor just had to call him back the next day. He had already told himself a week at least! "So what's wrong?"
"Well, Psyche hasn't left the apartment since he came here, so I want to bring him grocery shopping with me today!"
Shizuo stared at the doctor for a second before words came back to him. "That's it? Why couldn't you ask Celty to watch the flea?"
"She's out doing some jobs," Shinra replied as he grabbed his keys. "Don't worry; we'll be back in an hour or two. You don't even have to do anything! Just make sure Izaya stays in his room and rests!"
"Thank you, Shizuo!" Psyche said before bouncing after the doctor.
"Wait, Shinra…" he started, but the two had already disappeared. "What the hell? I'm not babysitting!"
Half an hour later, Shizuo stifled a yawn before glaring at Shinra's innocent living room from where he sat. He could feel his heavy eyelids calling for his brain to drift into the dream world, and was finally about to do so when he heard the sound of a phone from the flea's room. Curious, he moved closer to the door.
.
Izaya bolted upright when he heard his phone ring, breathing heavily before realizing that he was no longer dreaming. He wearily reached over to the device on the table and picked it up without looking at the caller.
"Hello?"
"Orihara," a familiar voice answered.
"Shi-Shiki?" He hadn't expected the other to call so early.
"One of my men reported that you were taken away by Heiwajima yesterday."
"Ah…"
"But from the sounds of it, you seem to be doing fine."
"I'm just resting right now," Izaya told him, hoping that the other would be satisfied with this. To his dismay, Shiki continued.
"This… Heiwajima seems to be quite a distraction for you. There have been many reports of him chasing you around the city."
"It's nothing I can't handle," Izaya assured him.
"Those bruises I see from time to time say otherwise."
Izaya held his breath, knowing what was coming.
"I'm thinking of sending some of my men to… permanently rid Ikebukuro and you of him. I'm sure that it would benefit the both of…"
"I'd prefer if you didn't take any unnecessary actions," the informant cut him off, feeling his heart quicken.
"Unnecessary? He is distracting you, Orihara. Besides, haven't you said many times that you wanted him dead? I am just offering you assistance in the act."
"I will be the one to kill Shizu-chan. If anyone else were to do it, I'd be traumatized!" Izaya told him, adding a little drama to his tone.
There was a pause on the other side of the line. "Very well." The other didn't seem to be fazed. "But if you seem to get any more distracted from your work…"
"I know! I know!" Izaya faked a yawn even though he was completely awake now. "Now let me sleep."
"Very well. I hope to hear from you soon. The group we talked about last time seems to be getting restless."
"Of course."
Izaya pressed the off button and let his arm go limp, allowing the phone to slide out of his fingers onto the sheets, as he went over the entire conversation once again in his head. Why would Shiki show interest in the bodyguard now after all those years? Shiki had known for a long time that the two of them weren't on good terms and had continuous chases in Ikebukuro. He recalled that the yakuza leader had called the bodyguard a "distraction" in the conversation, and it hit him.
"So he's wants me under his complete control…" Izaya muttered to himself, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "But I…" He didn't even look up when the bodyguard reentered the room, hands clenched. The idea that he would lose even more control made him numb.
"So you want to kill me that badly, huh flea?" he growled, storming over and grabbing the informant by the collar. He froze when he suddenly felt the tiniest shiver from the informant, who averted his eyes.
"Shizu-chan, I don't feel like talking right now," Izaya said quietly.
"Don't feel like talking? Don't you owe me an explanation for that plan you just hatched over the phone? I knew I shouldn't have saved your sorry ass yesterday!"
"Any idiot would understand that nothing was planned after eavesdropping on a conversation like that," Izaya retorted, hoping that the other would leave him alone already.
"Don't you lie to me," Shizuo snarled.
Clenching his teeth, Izaya shoved the other away. "You protozoan! If I wanted to really kill you, I would've done it years ago!" he yelled, feeling his anger cloud his judgment for the first time in years. It scared him, this outburst, but his feelings soon drowned out the fear.
"Of course you can't kill me, because I'm supposed to kill you!" the bodyguard retorted. "Besides, all those men you've sent after me already and the police…"
"Your brother…" Izaya managed to say; he was shaking very badly by now.
Shizuo froze. "You wouldn't dare."
"If I wanted to get to you, he would have been the first one I targeted. And, I would've made sure that he was…"
"You!" Shizuo grabbed the other again, slamming him against the bed frame.
Izaya could feel his life's air leaving him and grabbed at the other's hands desperately to free himself. 'I thought you were ready to die,' a voice in his head told him, prompting him to stop retaliating. However, that only made Shizuo stop choking him, realizing that he was killing the other. He let Izaya go, and the informant crumpled into a heap on the bed, coughing violently.
"Serves you right," Shizuo spat bitterly.
"Then why… didn't you… kill me?" Izaya gasped as he wiped at his eyes, not moving from where he fell.
"I'm not going to be sent to jail for killing the likes of you." Shizuo stepped back from the informant, attempting to calm himself down. He realized with a little guilt that Izaya had been telling him that he hadn't done anything serious to Kasuka even though he could, but the bodyguard drove that thought from his head, thinking that it was just another one of the informant's mind games. He waited for another retort from the flea but only gasps and coughing answered him.
"Stupid… protozoan…" Izaya finally managed.
"Shut up already."
"If you killed me, then Shiki would have no reason to go after you…"
It took Shizuo a few seconds to relate everything together, and he looked at the informant, mouth opened to respond, only to realize that the other had either fallen asleep or fainted from all the excitement. "Tch." He looked at his hands, sighing before he got up to leave. It wasn't going to do any of them good if he lost his temper again. Hadn't Shinra said to wait? Shizuo could never stand the doctor's reasoning sometimes.
He looked back at the informant. 'Tears?' The realization seemed unreal. The trail didn't seem to be stopping, and Shizuo walked back over to the informant. It was surreal, seeing the invincible Izaya Orihara cry like this, even if it was in his sleep and mostly likely from near-strangulation.
Without thinking, he held out a hand and wiped a little of the saltwater on his fingers, examining them just to make sure he wasn't seeing illusions. Frowning, he turned to leave, refusing to get himself any deeper into the mess and started walking towards the door.
"Shi…" he heard behind him just as the door closed.
"Shizuo! We're back!" Psyche exclaimed, jumping on him and giving him a big hug and ran away just as quickly before the bodyguard could even respond.
"How was everything?" Shinra asked, placing the grocery bags on the table.
"Just leaving," Shizuo answered as he walked past the doctor. Frowning, the doctor headed into Izaya's room, fearing the worst.
"Oh no, did anything happen?" Psyche asked from the doorway, sensing the tension right away.
"He just kicked off his blankets!" Shinra lied as he checked the other for a pulse, letting out a breath in relief when he found one.
.
Track 4: Hey Tsugaru. (Sneeze) Ah, I caught a cold. It's getting so cold these days; I wonder if I should buy a new jacket. (Sigh)
Today, he said he would help me kill Shizu-chan. Isn't that funny? Did he really think that Shizu-chan has anything to do with anything? (Pause) This is all his doing after all.
(Sneeze) Ah, I should go back now. There's something going on inside the yakuza. Sounds like fun, huh? Oh, and before I forget… (The sound of many coins on wood) Thanks for last time. Goodnight, Tsugaru! (End of recording)
Ah! So much homework! Anyways, this might have been up a day earlier, but I forgot the file at home so I couldn't work on it T.T It's up now though! I hope you enjoyed it!
So, this and "Broken" will be updated at least every 2 weeks. If I have a little more time (less homework), it might be up a littler earlier, like this chapter! Yay!
Thanks for reading!