Title: Blood Contract
Rating: M
Pairing: Shizuo x Izaya
Prompt : HALLOWEEN SPECIAL. Vampire Izaya and Priest Shizuo story! This is an AU story!
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters!
THIS STORY CONTAINS MALExMALE RELATIONSHIPS. You have been warned.
Heels clicked and echoed through the stone hallways of the church as the Sister marched to the dorm rooms. Though a lovely blonde, she had no nonsense look to her face. Many men had thought it was a pity that such a beautiful woman had given herself up to the Lord at such a young age, but once they got to know Sister Vorona's personality, they all agreed that though she may possess all the meticulous housekeeping abilities, no man would be able to handle her as a wife.
So the young beautiful blonde Sister marched down the hallways, knocking crisply at each door to collect laundry. When she came to her senpai's door, she remained just as ruthless when she sharply knocked on the wooden entry. There was a groan inside, meaning she had just woken him up but the door remained closed. This was the last door from which she needed to collect laundry and Vorona refused to be deterred, endearing senpai or not. So she knocked sharply again twice before she voiced, "I'm coming in, Shizuo-senpai," and opened the door.
Vorona blinked blankly at the sight. Normally, the sight of male nudity wouldn't bother the Sister as she saw it from a clinical point of view rather than finding it sexual. She had seen Shizuo senpai's bare chest plenty of times since Shizuo normally sleeps with just his blue pajama pants on while she had to yank on the blankets and roll him off the bed to wake him up. But what confused her was… that the solitude-loving senpai of hers… was…
…sleeping next to another man.
"Nngh… is it morning...? Shizu-chan… you've got a guest…" The young man with raven dark hair blinked and groggily tried to shake Shizuo awake while yawning. The man was just wearing a long white dress shirt, rumpled from sleeping. But what caught her attention wasn't the man's clothing or the fact that she didn't know him…
…. But his fangs!
"A vampire!" Vorona shouted a war cry as she simultaneously dropped her basket full of laundry, the shirts, pants and boxers flying in the air as her hands ducked under her dress to grab the semi-automatic rifles strapped onto her thighs, putting them together in mid-air.
"Oh shit!" the vampire's eyes widened as he saw the Sister practically assemble the weapons in the air, knowing that he was dealing with a professional hunter. Instead of flying away, Izaya quickly grabbed Shizuo and hugged him tight as he wrapped his wings around both of them, shielding him the best he could while Shizuo woke up with a start.
The sounds of rattling machine guns woke up the entire church quite rudely that morning for breakfast as Vorona shot the whole load of magazines straight into that dorm room.
"W-wait, wait! Vorona! I can explain!" Shizuo woke up abruptly when he heard his kouhai shout her battle cry but it was too late. The blond priest-to-be flipped over his bed, grabbed the confused Izaya and ducked as the feathers from his bedding flew and the clothes full of holes fluttered and fell dramatically.
When Vorona ran out of bullets and was about to reload, Shizuo shouted from the other side of his bullet ridden bed, "Wait! Vorona! He's with me!"
Sister Vorona stopped, her two semi-automatic machine guns still in her hands, already fully loaded as she had flipped the magazines in midair, her being an expert with guns of all types. She frowned only briefly, a rare shift of her normally emotionless face. "Negative. How do I know he's not charmed you, Shizuo-senpai?"
Shizuo carefully stood up with his hands up. "L-look. I don't have any bite marks, alright?" Shizuo tried to show that he had no bite marks on his body as Izaya got up too, whining loudly.
"Stupid bitch! She fucking ripped holes into this shirt! And look at my wings! I'm bleeding everywhere! Fucking silver bullets hurt like hell!" Izaya hissed unceremoniously as he rubbed at his wounds.
By now the entrance to the dorm room was packed with uninvited guests as people looked inside to see what was going on. And they all gasped as they saw Izaya spreading out his wings to show his wounds to Shizuo.
"A vampire!" they all shouted in unison as all thirty-or-so of them grabbed their weapons and locked their target ready to fire, making Shizuo facepalm.
"What's going on here? Huh? Izaya?" The good doctor adjusted his glasses once he was able to push through the crowds. "What are you doing here?"
"Shinra!" Izaya shouted all happily as if the wounds were surface scratches. He flung himself forward and hugged the man who looked clueless to the chaos around him. A tinge of jealousy rose in Shizuo's heart. No… not just a tinge, more of an immense surge of jealousy as Shizuo noticed how happily and readily Izaya greeted their mutual friend without a single shred of doubt.
"Alright, alright! What's going on here! Move aside!" one of the high priests shouted as the crowd parted. He looked into the room to see the bloody vampire they were searching for, along with a half naked priest and a doctor being hugged by the said vampire, which looked like a blatantly sacrilegious activity in the holy church.
"Alright! I demand an answer! Brother Heiwajima!" the head priest Kazamoto growled in his direction.
"I… I can explain…" Shizuo said meekly. And deep in his heart, as a pair of boxers filled with holes landed on top of his head, he truly hoped he could.
Shizuo sighed as he closed the heavy door. He had been scolded for several hours by all the head priests. Shizuo had wanted to go to them in the morning and present to them the tamed vampire, all freshened up, but that plan got ruined. Instead he had to explain that he had found Izaya around 4am in the morning when everyone was asleep and he hadn't wanted to wake anyone up or cause trouble, no sir he won't make this mistake again and yes sir, Izaya really is tamed and no sir, he'd make sure that Izaya won't cause trouble…
After the head priests clearly laid out the rules that Kasuka had also had to follow for Ruri and only after he signed all the paperwork, Shizuo was allowed to leave. And immediately as he stepped out of the council room, he heard some sisters screaming and sounds of bullets flying… and he knew Izaya had gotten into trouble again.
"That damn vampire! I told him to stay put in the room!" Shizuo growled as he ran towards the hallway where he heard the sound. He quickly looked around for the vampire, but he didn't see him. Shizuo walked over to the sisters and asked from a safe distance, "a-are you alright?" since Shizuo knew most people were just as wary of him as they were wary of vampires.
The women cried and mumbled something unintelligible. Shizuo growled as he followed his nose to find that pest.
"Flea! Where are you?! I told you to stay in my room!"
"But I was hungry~ And don't call me that, that's so degrading," came a whine on top of the ceiling. Shizuo looked up to see the vampire on top of the wooden loft where the soft colorful lights of the stained glass windows hid him from view.
"Get down here! Now!" Shizuo demanded angrily. They were lucky that no one was in the chapel hall else Shizuo would be in more trouble.
"I don't wanna~~" said the cheeky, sassy voice from above. Shizuo was sorely tempted to throw one of the benches up there and make the vampire fall. They were off to a rocky start. He needed to show that Izaya would obey him else he would have to kill the vampire. Why couldn't he understand that?! Shizuo was trying to protect him here!
"Come down here if you want to be fed, flea." Shizuo growled, "else you're not getting any tonight."
There was a flutter of wings as the vampire quickly dropped to the ground. "So not fair! Using food as blackmail! You shouldn't do that to those in need, Brother Shizu-chan~~" Izaya pouted as he walked over.
"What did you do to those sisters? You need to go and apologize." Shizuo frowned at the man who seemed to show no remorse for what he had done. He ignored that Izaya had called him by a ridiculous pet name.
Izaya shrugged. "I didn't do anything. They just yapped and yapped about dumb stuff until I came and then started screaming at me and pointing their goddamn g…"
"Don't swear in the name of the Lord!" Shizuo interrupted. "And that's why I told you to stay inside!"
Izaya bristled a bit, his eyes narrowing, "But it's boring! And I was hungry! You can't seriously have me locked up inside your stupid room for hours and expect me to not-"
"No, you will! Because I said so!" Shizuo growled.
The second time Izaya was interrupted he paused. His sharp eyes regarded Shizuo for a moment before he answered, "fine." Then seemingly obediently, he started walking towards Shizuo's room.
"And stay there until I get back." Shizuo ordered as he watched Izaya's back and his bristled wings acting like a bird with ruffled feathers the wrong way disappear into the hallways. He sighed. They really had a long way to go… Perhaps he should ask Kasuka how he got Ruri to obey him. At least he can always use his blood as the bargaining chip but Shizuo wasn't sure how long that would last. More than anything, they needed to get out of here. The priests, brothers and sisters were all nervous that there was another vampire walking about. Shizuo needed his next mission… fast. But the priests now had to redo their paperwork so that Shizuo could go on a mission appropriate for a vampire hunter and his pet… as they called him. Izaya just needed to stay put for few days, why couldn't he…
Then Shizuo paused. Izaya… had gotten hurt earlier this morning while protecting him. Izaya really did protect him.
'He hasn't… forgotten his promise…' Shizuo's eyes softened at that. He really should go and thank him but…
Shizuo sighed. It looked like he missed the chance. He wondered if Izaya was really okay, though he didn't see anything out of norm from the vampire…
The blond scratched his head. He had just way too many things to do right now to worry about a vampire. He would deal with Izaya later. For now, he needed to look into finding them a proper mission so they could leave this place. Fast. Before they both got in trouble again.
And before the priests consider Izaya a threat and try to eliminate him.
Izaya grumbled as he kept walking. He couldn't do this, he couldn't do that, stupid priest wanna-be acting all high and mighty, nya, nya, nya. Izaya made mocking faces of the little human who's not so little anymore as he walked towards the dorm hallway.
Suddenly, there was a hand that grabbed onto his mouth, muffling his potential scream before Izaya was pulled away from the main hallway into the dark corners where the shadows fell. Izaya was surprised at first but remained calm as he was slammed against the wall. He hissed as his eyes tried to adjust to the darkness to see his assailant.
"What now? Look, before you start firing your goddamn silver bullets at me, I'm…"
"You're Orihara Izaya. Yes, I know. In fact… we know each other … quite… intimately…"
Izaya stared quietly. He recognized that voice.
"I know you…" Izaya's eyes narrowed. Then he was roughly pushed up against the wall. Izaya bit his lips as he felt the hands touch and squeeze him between his legs.
"Then you know… you can't get in trouble… right? It would be… very bad for your… blond friend… if you're caught hurting me. So stay still and shut up."
Izaya's eyes narrowed as he felt the hand dip under his pants and touch him. His mind immediately took him back to the times he was forced to spend chained to the cement table as the human got on top of him as his vision blurred.
"Are you sure… this is okay, Father?" The man with his hair slicked back said on top of Izaya. He hesitated despite his erection being quite eager. "I'm not going to hell with fornicating with the devil?"
"It's not fornication. It's an experiment," the man with grey eyes and serious face explained calmly as he stood along the sidelines along with several doctors quietly writing down their observations in a clinical manner. "We're trying to find out if… blood in an aroused state heals him faster than when it's not. Or perhaps it's just a preference thing, nothing to do with nutrients." The priest smirked, his cold eyes not quite smiling with him. "Don't worry. As a hunter, this would be a beneficial experience for you as well. You've… always bragged that you had your blood sucked, haven't you? Now you'll be able to explain how it feels thoroughly."
Izaya moaned as the man with dark hood over his head continued to squeeze and press him against the stone wall… cold like the walls in the basement. He feels weaker, the memory and his vision blurring together, the images and words colliding as the trauma resurfaced with the trigger.
"Now you remember…" the man said in the darkness. He chuckled, "I remember your sweet moans all too well. It was the best month of my life, being able to fuck you every night in the name of… experimentation."
Izaya pants softly, trying to shrink… trying to run away from the images haunting his mind. But he couldn't… the trigger had set off the pandora's box as if the nightmares were real once more… even though he was clearly free now, his mind was still trapped inside that dark, stinky basement too fresh with the smell of blood and decaying fresh.
"Nnngh… no… s…stop…" Izaya muttered, trying to weakly push away. What was he trying to push away?
Horada laughed uneasily as he turned to face the toothless and mangled vampire. He wasn't pretty anymore but something about those ruby colored eyes peeking through the blood bandages was enchanting still.. The charm of the vampire still remained strong despite how much they mangle him up. Izaya remained still seductive, alluring… and Horada licked his lips as he mustered up some courage.
The young apprentice wanted him, the lust filling his black heart. He always had to sneak out to a cheap whore house in disguises for sex and now he finally had the opportunity for a good fuck, despite the fact that he was being observed and that the whore was a male… and a vampire at that.
Horada took a deep breath, sticking his cut finger inside the mouth of the toothless vampire as he ripped off the monster's pants.
Orihara Izaya shuddered at his memory that flooded him as the assailant continued to touch him vulgarly now outside the basement. His limbs grew weak and his breath quickening up, his wings pressed hard against the cold stones of the church instead of the basement. But his mind couldn't make up its mind where he really was as the trauma over the years clouded his judgment.
Horada leaned forward to whisper into Izaya's ear, "I was sad when they said… I can't fuck you anymore. But I did enjoy… cutting you up later. That was almost as good… watching you squirm and scream… And now you've gotten even prettier… for me."
Izaya's eyes flashed as he suddenly whirled around and slammed the priest against the stone wall, his hand tightly clutching Horada's throat, choking him so he couldn't speak.
"Oh, I remember you alright. Brother Horada… they called you, wasn't it? I remember you all too well… you and your entire bloody lot." Izaya hissed as his hand squeezed around the neck as the brother clawed at him for oxygen. The vampire tried to shake off the foggy memory and the awful headache that lingered as he leered into the panic-stricken eyes of the apprentice hunter.
"Afraid? Aww… did you think I would be that easy? Thought you could blackmail me or threaten me into another quick fuck? Well… what if… they never found you…. What then? They couldn't possibly blame me without…. evidence… if I were to… crush your throat and drown you in a deep lake… miles and miles from here…" Izaya whispered seductively as he gazed into the dimming eyes. "It would be my pleasure, actually."
As Izaya was about to crush the neck, he heard a scream. He quickly turned to realize that another Sister had found him in a very compromising position. Izaya quickly let go of the coughing hunter and he flew out the window before they could catch him.
Shizuo stood still, wordlessly, clutching at his paperwork as Father Shiki glared down at him.
"Well? Do you have an explanation?"
".. N-no sir." Shizuo replied glumly. Just earlier, Shizuo had sighed in relief as he held onto the mission paperwork in his hands. He stayed in the mission control room for two hours, filling out forms so that they could hurry up the process and give him an assignment. As he was going to his dorm room however, he was abruptly stopped and told what had happened.
And now he was being scolded yet again at the vampire's second attempted attack in one day. Except this second one was much more severe.
"Haayuuhiihaaa! Huushuushkkk!" Horada tried to speak with his hoarse voice, pointing at the his neck. There were indeed claws and indentations of the vampire… and several witnesses that Izaya had tried to feed on him. Shizuo winced at the bruise. Not because it looked painful, which it did, but he knew Horada was a perpetual liar. Izaya wouldn't have attacked him unless Horada had taunted him. Or so he thought.
"Father. Izaya…. I, I mean, the vampire wouldn't be attracted to other person's blood but me." Shizuo tried to argue.
"Well, that doesn't mean that the vampire still is addicted to his violent nature. Perhaps he doesn't need to feed his stomach hunger… but more of his innate nature to cause violence." Father Shiki smoothly bantered back. Shizuo gritted his teeth. He hated being told that it was an innate nature of anyone to seek violence… something he was told all his life. As if it was a destined element, a plausible explanation for everything.
"I swear, Izaya is tamed. I really don't think Iza…. I mean, the vampire would have attempted an attack if…"
"Huuaaahuuu liaaa!" Horada cried out.
Shizuo sighed. "No, Horada. I'm not calling you a liar. I'm just saying… maaaybe there was a reason to his… violence… rather than just because he wanted to." Then he looked at Father Shiki with imploring eyes, "Please. Give me one more chance. I'll prove with this mission that… he's completely tamed."
Father Shiki regarded the both of them gravely with his piercing grey eyes like those of a hawk.
"Why are you defending this vampire of yours…?" the priest asked. "How do we know he hasn't charmed you?"
'Not this again…' Shizuo thought to himself. Yes, everyone knew the powerful charming effect of the vampire. He himself even felt it multiple times. It wasn't that Izaya was exceptionally beautiful. It didn't even seem to matter what the person's sexual orientation was… just something about these vampires… naturally pulled humans to them, like magnets.
"I can't prove that, I admit. But I promise you results from the missions. We will kill vampires. Together. That should prove our loyalty… and usefulness in the long run, right?"
Father Shiki just 'hmmed,' in response then waved his hand at Shizuo. "You may leave."
Shizuo blinked at first then sighed in relief as he turned to go.
"But. I expect results, Brother Heiwajima."
Shizuo swallowed hard and bowed once before leaving.
As the footsteps faded away, Horada stomped his foot in anger as he banged his hand on the desk in front of Shiki.
"Hwwwaaai?!" he yelled with his crushed throat. "Hwwai allooww?!"
But his voice was quickly cut off as the priest grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall.
"You fool…" Shiki whispered to the frightened hunter with a low voice just above a whisper. "Who told you to go fuck him…? I told you to eliminate him without anyone seeing. Now that damn hunter knows that the vampire isn't safe in the church… you won't get a clean shot at him anymore."
"Hnngh! Mmngh!" The young apprentice panicked as the pain rippled through him, trying to explain something but he couldn't. Shiki rolled his eyes at the pathetic hunter and dropped him to the floor, the young man coughing and wheezing.
"We'll just have to hope that the cursed being won't talk about our experiments… else, I'll have your head next to silence you."
Horada looked up frightened and graveled in what wheezing voice he had that he would neeever talk about the experiment in the basement with anyone. Neeever.
Shiki kicked at the man and told him, "Leave my presence."
Horada crawled out in a hurry, slamming the door behind him. The priest sighed as he looked out the window to try to cool his anger.
"Having trouble cleaning the house?" said an amused voice in the darkness.
"Shut up." Shiki growled back at the man dressed in a red chasuble.
"Shall I intervene for you?" said the other priest who bore a large scar over one eye that he partially hid with a monocle.
"No. I can take care of it. Perhaps we'll be needing this vampire in the future… I'll let him run around for a bit. But in the end, he'll have to come back to us." Shiki smirked.
"You sound so sure of yourself." The man stepped out of the darkness to wrap one arm around the waist of the priest in white. Shiki slapped the hand away.
"Akabayashi. Behave yourself." Shiki scowled as he turned to face the red priest. Akabayashi just chuckled as he stepped back, leaning on one cane.
"Of course, Shiki-no-danna. Whatever you say. I look forward to… what you have planned… for those two."
Shizuo was in a foul mood. Everyone stepped aside as they saw the dark brooding expression of the hunter as he marched down the hallway.
Shizuo yelled as he kicked the door open. "Shinra! Shinra! He's here isn't he?! He wasn't in my fucking room!" No he wasn't jealous… not at all. He was just fucking pissed off that Izaya had disobeyed him again!
Shinra quietly walked over to Shizuo, wiping the blood from his hands. "Oh, you just missed him. He flew out the window… when he heard you yelling." Shinra shrugged. Shizuo growled, his hands balling into fists but unable to find the appropriate target. Though he had to admit, he was always impressed by how Shinra didn't seem to be scared even when the blond was at the epitome of rage.
"Would you like some coffee?" Shinra asked instead as he turned around to get Shizuo a cup.
"Where did he go?!" Shizuo asked instead of answering Shinra's question. The doctor just poured himself a cup, a white mug with a weird hand drawing of himself… with the word 'Shinra' written on it. He turned around, leaning against the cabinet and sipped it quietly, waiting for Shizuo to calm down a notch before answering.
"Where do you think he'll go?"
"How the hell should I know?!"
"Why not? He's your vampire, right?"
"He's NOT MY…" Shizuo's voice trailed off. W-wait, he was his vampire now. He sighed. "L-look. I need to find him. So tell me where he is."
Shinra shrugged. "What would you do once you find him?" Shizuo rolled his eyes.
"That's none of your busine-"
"No. It's not. But did you know why he came here first?"
Shizuo blinked when Shinra cut him off sharply. Shinra rarely did that… actually… Shinra only did that when he was angry. Now it was Shizuo's turn to be caught off guard.
"Erm… he likes you?"
"Shizuo. If he really wanted to chat with someone, he'd charm a farm girl or a milk lady down in another town. Why would he come straight to me?" Shinra's sharp questions made the young hunter think for a bit. But no matter how often he turned it in his head, Shizuo had no idea…
Shinra sighed, "Alright. Let's turn it around for a second. Why would you normally come to me? You're not exactly a chatty person either."
"Well I come when I…" Shizuo paused. Then he continued slowly, "when I need treatment."
"Right. Izaya was riddled with silver bullets. You made him sit in his room for four hours straight instead." Shinra bluntly told him as he sipped his coffee. Now Shizuo flushed with embarrassment.
"I… well… I thought…" No, Shizuo didn't think. He had totally forgotten all about it. Even after Izaya had shown him his wings full of holes and all bloody…
"O-once I feed him my blood, he would heal up so…" Shizuo stammered. He was thinking of Izaya's safety!
"Huh. How strange. Wonder why you didn't feed him then before you left?"
"I was ordered to the council room to be scolded for the mess that he….!"
"Sister Vorona's mess actually. Not that I blame her either. She has fast reflexes… probably the fastest reflexes in the entire church. Still not really Izaya's fault was it?"
Shizuo looked down sheepishly at that. "O-okay fine. I'm at fault for that. So where is he now?" Shizuo tried to change the subject, quite frustrated he was being scolded all day… despite trying to protect this damn vampire.
"Did you know Izaya is claustrophobic?" Shinra switched the subject on him again as he blew on the coffee before sipping some more.
"H-he what?" Shizuo blinked again.
"Claustrophobic. You know, when you're afraid of being in a tight, closed spac-"
"I know what that means, Shinra! I'm not stupid!" Shizuo crushed the chair near his hand.
"Oh. Right, of course you're not stupid. Of course, you'd realize this right away. After all, you know all about the fact that the vampire was trapped in a small room for fifteen or so years without ever being able to leave it while he was being tortured every few hours or so… surely you knew all about it, yes. So why did you tell him to stay in your bullet riddled room for four more hours without telling him when you'll be back? Didn't think that might trigger something?"
"I…." Shizuo stammered again. He was starting to realize how little he knew about the vampire. "H-he didn't tell me that he…!"
"Shizuo." Shinra frowned, cutting him off again. "Did you ever, once in your life, tell me your fears?!"
Shizuo stopped.
Not once has Shizuo ever told anyone of his fears. Not to Father Tom, not to Kasuka his own blood brother, not to Sister Vorona and not to Shinra, his two best friends. And of course, never to the confessional stands to the random priest who was listening in.
Shizuo could feel his heart sink like a hard heavy lead in the ocean. Shinra was right. Why would.. the vampire trust him? Shizuo knew all about trust issues. Actually, more than a trust issue, to him, it was just that Shizuo didn't want to show how weak he was to his enemies and didn't want to disappoint his friends…
Ah… his enemies. Izaya was surrounded by his enemies in this church. Even if Shizuo had offered his hand, there was no way that the vampire could trust him so easily…
"And… he told… you?" Shizuo asked with a frown, looking at Shinra as if he had betrayed him.
"No." Shinra smiled a bit sadly. "Just like you never tell me your problems, he doesn't either. I actually don't know if he's claustrophobic. It's just a theory. Just like it's my theory that you have nightmares about vampires now and then. Ah, that's only because I had nightmares too when my mother died, just my conjectures on the matter and nothing more. Don't worry, I don't assume anything even if I theorize unless I have further proof. Let's just say, I'm more careful and observe… and act carefully depending on a list of analysis." Shinra seemed less angry now that Shizuo was seeing what he was saying.
"He came in here rather shaken. At first I thought it was from the allergic reactions of the silver but it appeared it was something more. I think someone attacked him, though I only saw the silver bullet wounds. I took out the bullets and treated him the best I could to speed up his healing process. Which by the way, earlier about the feeding blood thing. Don't you think it's kinda cruel to have him stay in pain just because he can heal up eventually? Sure it wasn't fatal wounds but pain is pain. The man had enough of pain, don't you think?"
Shizuo frowned at Shinra's words. Because he was right. The vampire did have enough pain in his life… probably…
W-wait, did Shinra just call Izaya, a 'man'?
"After he got his treatment I think he must have felt better. He mostly sat here complaining about you," Shinra smirked at Shizuo. "I won't exactly tell you what he said since privacy of my clientele is important to me but… he's not quite happy with you."
"Well, I tried my best," Shizuo huffed as he sat down in the chair which the handle he had just crushed.
"I'm not saying you didn't. I think Izaya just needed to vent. Which is why I'm saying that I think he was rattled up quite badly early… something that wasn't Sister Vorona related. Remember, Izaya has enemies in this church, those who had tortured him for years walking around in this very church. He really doesn't have anyone else here except you and me you know. And that's really not much at all considering he is a vampire of an ancient family lineage, not like Ruri-chan who's only ¼ of a vampire. He probably grew up like a high noble with servants and maids. He has polished etiquette and poise despite his playfulness, did you notice?"
"O-of course I did," Shizuo muttered. Actually he didn't. He still couldn't tell what was a proper etiquette anyway and didn't bother to learn how to deal with the stuffy nobles. He let someone else deal with that. Besides all the stuffy proper people looked down on him which made Shizuo break things… causing more problems. It was always easier for Shizuo to avoid them altogether. Hence why he was clueless to proper etiquettes, or so he told himself. He never thought he would need them anyway.
Shinra just smiled knowingly but did not comment. Shizuo was glad for that, though now he was realizing just how wise Shinra actually was sometimes.
"It was our first time talking Shizuo. We've never talked while he was locked up in the basement… our only 'conversation,' if you could call it that, was eye to eye contact once in awhile. I don't know anything about him just like you. I just deduced some elements from my observations in which I have no idea if I'm actually right or wrong."
"Well, I think you're fairly close…" Shizuo admitted. Especially since Shinra got it right about his nightmares.
"Thanks. But what I'm trying to say is, I know no more than you. You should really give him a chance and listen before you point fingers at him, that's all. You of all people should know what that feels like."
That was true. No one really listened to him. Everyone blamed him for everything. From a broken chair that another kid broke all the way to crop failures that season. Shizuo knew how that felt, when no one would listen his side of the story, the whole truth. It was exactly that reason why he had given up even telling anyone anything.
"So back to the same question, Shizuo. Where do you think he'll go?" Shinra asked calmly, coming back to the question from the beginning.
Shizuo nodded solemnly as he got up. He understood now that it was his responsibility to understand Izaya. Finding him was just a start of a long journey, but it was Shizuo's duty. And he had an idea where the vampire would hide.
"Hey, Izaya?! You there?!" Shizuo shouted up at the tall holy tree in the cemetery. It was the place they met… and where Shizuo had first found Izaya. The cemetery was one place that most people dared not go unless they had to… so it was a quiet secluded area. Which was why Shizuo had always ran here to quietly cry or brood about things after being bullied.
"Look… I… umm… I'm sorry about…" Shizuo frowned. What could he say? That he was sorry told Izaya to stay in his room? That he didn't feed him when Izaya said he was hungry? That Horada probably… attacked him? Shizuo didn't actually think ahead about what to say at all… as he usually thought of something at the spur of the moment.
"Err… that is, I'm sorry that I…"
"Oh, just shove it. I can't stand looking at you. You're embarrassing me," came the reply and the sound of fluttering wings. Izaya fell down a few branches lower to sit on one just out of Shizuo's reach. "Fine, fine. I'll go to your damn room. Why can't I just stay out of you human's sight for few hours?! Do you guys seriously want to put a strict surveillance on me twenty-four seven?!"
"Ah, no, no. Th-that's not it. Or rather, that's why I'm here…" Shizuo scratched the back of his head apologetically. "If… if you want, you can stay here. You don't need to… stay in my room or anything…"
Izaya frowned as he looked down at the human with a change of heart. "I thought you'd be angry. You kicked that door down at Shinra's with quite a force…"
Shizuo flushed and looked away, "S-sorry about that…" he muttered.
Izaya tilted his head suspiciously, "What do you want then? Surely you came for something if you don't want me back in your room."
Shizuo thought about it. He couldn't… ask what Horada did. After all, whenever Father Tom had asked him what the bullies did to him, Shizuo would always lie and reply, "Nothing…" He knew this more than anyone else. Shizuo swallowed hard.
"I… came to feed you."
Izaya blinked in disbelief. "Really?"
"Y-yeah… I mean… your wounds…"
There was a flutter of wings as Izaya dropped to the ground level at the word 'feed.' "Oh, rubbish! I'm not that hurt. See? Shinra fixed me up pretty well!" Izaya looked cheery as he spun around to show his wings. Shizuo couldn't help but smile. Either Izaya was a really great actor or… he picked himself right up very easily. No one would believe that the man was locked up for years being tortured…
But Shinra wasn't the type to make up lies regarding the gruesome torture.
Even if it was hard to believe right now, Shizuo did remember the stank of the basement… the gaping holes of decaying flesh this vampire once had just a week or so ago down in that cold cell.
"Does that mean you don't need my blood?" Shizuo smirked teasingly.
"OH HELL NO! I want my food!" Izaya hissed as ran up to him and clung to his arm. Shizuo chuckled. They probably had a long way to go in terms of being completely honest with each other but… first, Shizuo had to trust him. After all, Izaya did try to save him that morning when Vorona had fired at them. And if Izaya didn't want to talk about what had happened between him and Horada… why he had attacked him… Shizuo wouldn't ask. He had a gut feeling that Izaya must have done it out of self defense, just like Shizuo had done in the past against Horada. It was understandable that Izaya would never tell anyone the truth if he was certain that no one would believe him. Same went with not wanting to show how hurt he was or showing his weakness while surrounded by his enemies. These things, Shizuo knew all too well. He had been there. Though he admitted, the way Izaya hid his pain was the opposite of how Shizuo had hid his, so Shizuo wasn't able to realize it sooner. But after hearing Shinra, Shizuo could see it more clearly.
"Alright, but remember. No sucking. You only drink the drops falling from my finger." Shizuo reminded the vampire. And as expected, Izaya hissed in defiance. "What?! What am I, your pet?! That takes too long!"
"No buts. It's a rule." Shizuo remained firm but not angry.
Izaya still looked unsatisfied. "What, more rules?!"
The young blond sighed, "You know why." And Shizuo cut his finger and let the blood drip. "Drink… else it'll just go to waste."
"W-wait, wait! Dammit, I wasn't ready!" Izaya quickly got on his knees to drink the falling droplets of blood. Shizuo does note that the vampire was quite obedient. He may complain, actually he complained a lot, but at the end Izaya did follow his orders.
Shizuo felt ashamed that he had responded back in anger earlier to the vampire's teasing. Izaya was just hiding his wounds.
"Hey flea…" Shizuo said as he watched Izaya roll out his tongue to catch the blood.
The blond smirked when Izaya responded with an expected scowl, "I told you not to call me that."
"Right, when you stop calling me 'Shizu-chan,'" Shizuo scoffed right back. He could get used to their relationship. He cleared his throat and continued.
"Uhh. So I came to also tell you that… we got our first mission."
"Really?!" Izaya eyes brightened, half getting up in excitement but quickly getting back on his knee to catch the drops of blood. "Thank god, I was about to go crazy staying here. Fuck, I need a change of scenario. No offense but your church is fucking boring as hell. Granted, I was stuck in the basement for most of those years but."
Shizuo did his best not to laugh at him. The vampire could be cute… when he wanted to be. Either that or it was that magical charm working its way, the young hunter couldn't tell. The hunger was impressed that the raven could even make a joke out of his… possible trauma.
"Thought you were a heathen, didn't believe in gods." Shizuo teased him lightly as he squeezed his finger for more blood.
"Oh hell no. We know there's a god. Doesn't mean I like the guy." Izaya shrugged, licking his lips before going back to his feeding. "So when are we going?"
"Well… tomorrow morning I thought would be best. We can have a good night's rest and…" Shizuo paused a bit. "If you want… I can bring blankets and you can sleep out here…." Remembering that Izaya might be claustrophobic.
"Oh for chrissake, no! Why would I deny myself of nice soft bed and sleep in some tree trunks?! Though your bed is far from soft, it's shit better than the cement I had to lay on for years." Izaya rolled his eyes.
Shizuo blinked in surprise. W-wait… wasn't… Izaya… claustrophobic? Was Shinra wrong? Or was Izaya hiding it again… Shizuo couldn't figure it out.
"Okay then. You can have the bed and I'll sleep on the floor?" Shizuo offered. Last night was a blur. He had felt faint after Izaya had drunk a lot of his blood and he only remembered waking up in his bed with Vorona raining bullets.
"Shizu-chan, your place is freaking cold. I don't understand you priests and lack of love for heat and comfort. I'd rather use you as my thermal blanket and share the cramp bed." Izaya sighed as if Shizuo's generosity was in actuality more of a pain.
"Dammit louse, I'm just trying to be nice here," Shizuo muttered frowning at the fact that Izaya kept declining every attempt at the blond trying to be nice for once.
"Yeah well, think it through first before you offer any more of your 'nice' things." Izaya wiped his lips as he got up, having his fill. Shizuo felt hurt but it was true. Everything Shizuo had thought was going to be for the best for Izaya, the vampire had other ideas instead. They really needed to work on this… communication. It didn't help that Shizuo never felt the need to… communicate properly with anyone before. It would be a challenge.
"Alright let's go to bed." Shizuo nodded as he started walking forward. Izaya watched for a moment before he called out, "hey."
"Yeah?"
"You're not angry?" Izaya asked again, still frowning in confusion. "I crushed… your brother's throat."
"Ah…" So Izaya did feel guilty about it, Shizuo had thought as he walked on, not turning to face the vampire.
"Well, I did get scolded…" Shizuo started. Though he couldn't see, Izaya froze on the spot with baited breath.
"But I figured you did it out of self defense, right? It's alright, I got the upper priests to sorta understand. If you behave, I think they'll let you go." That was pretty farfetched from the truth, Shizuo knew. But he didn't really want to worry the vampire. Just… somehow, Shizuo wanted to protect him. Like how Father Tom did whenever Shizuo got into trouble as a child. He remembered how often Father Tom would go out there to find him every time Shizuo ran away after hurting someone. And after the Father found him, he never asked the crying boy what he did wrong.
All he did was say, 'come here Shizuo,' and gave him a hug. And little Shizuo would cry harder in his arms for awhile but all the pain would slowly melt away with that warm embrace. Never once did Father Tom ask what was wrong or what had happened. Because it never mattered. What mattered was that Shizuo was hurt and that Father Tom would always be there to lend a shoulder to cry on. That Father Tom was always at his side when the world was cruel and unfair.
Shizuo remembered that all too well, especially as he looked up at the big tree that had seen him cry over the years. He pat the trunk softly in a silent thank you before he walked up a bit. He turned around to look back at the stunned vampire in disbelief that Shizuo had managed to clear his name somehow.
"You're coming, right?" Shizuo asked, stretching out his hand.
"Stupid Shizu-chan," the vampire muttered as he walked forward slapping the hand away. "I'm not a baby. I'm 3,000 years older than you, remember that."
Shizuo smiled as he said, "Yeah, yeah flea." But he did notice that the vampire's pointy ears were flushed pink from behind.
Shizuo woke up early the following morning even if he didn't want to. He'd had a pretty good night sleep over all despite the cramp bed. He stretched and yawned as he shook the vampire who was curling up around his arm for warmth.
"Hey, wake up Izaya." Shizuo shook him a bit more as the vampire moaned, his wings fluttering sleepily. Shizuo learned that Izaya conveyed a lot of his true emotions with his wings. He smirked as leaned forward and whispered,
"Get up flea or no breakfast."
The vampire immediately jolted up with bloodshot eyes, "What! No fair!" Shizuo covered him his mouth to stifle a laugh. Wow this vampire really liked food. Granted he was probably not a glutton from start but from being conditioned for years…
"You know you only get fed once a day, get up you lazy bum." Shizuo flicked at the vampire's forehead.
"Ow! You lied to me?! Does a man of god lie this often? Ugh…" Izaya rubbed his forehead as he got up to get dressed.
Though Shizuo had woken up early enough not to disturb anyone, or rather just didn't want trouble from others, Vorona was already in the hallway collecting laundry for the day. Shizuo opened the door to give her his basket. Then she looked over at the vampire and said, "You. Give me yours as well."
Izaya blinked in the middle of getting dressed back into his slightly dirty clothes. "But… we're leaving now." The Sister nodded as she pulled out a new nicely cleaned outfit for the vampire in his size. "Wear this then."
Izaya starred at it at first before he quietly walked over to grab his new clothes. Then he looked at Vorona suspiciously. "… You're willing to clean a filthy vampire's clothes? Thought you hated vampires, for killing your parents," in an accusing tone.
"Izaya…" Shizuo said warningly. Then he quickly looked at the sister, trying to see if he could explain that it wasn't him who had not told Izaya about Vorona's past. It was probably Shinra, that damn bastard!
But Vorona said calmly to Izaya, "Your suspicion is wrongly directed. It wasn't you who killed my parents, right?"
Izaya looked a bit surprised at the unbiased answer. Then he looked at his clothes. They were really well tailored. Was it her way of apologizing? The vampire couldn't tell. Actually, Izaya was more surprised that this woman was able to figure out his measurements from split seconds of contact.
The vampire put it on. He liked how it looked on him. It even had a hole in the back for his wings. He smiled a bit as he flapped his wings comfortably too. All the while, Shizuo was trying to figure out how to apologize to Vorona and to tell her he really hadn't gossiped… that and he wasn't sure what to feel about Vorona's unnerving look at Izaya getting dressed in front of her.
"I will be washing this up by the time of your return." The young woman with her unique accent as she picked up the vampire's clothes to put it on top of the rest of the laundry.
"And you better come back with Shizuo-senpai to reclaim your clothes," Vorona said with a slight huff of pride.
Izaya smirked as he teased her. "Oh? Are you going to hold my clothes hostage?"
The blonde sister faintly smiled in challenge. "Negative. I will hunt you down personally if you do not return with Shizuo senpai in a timely manner."
Shizuo and Izaya froze at the threat. Izaya might not know her well but he believed her as he stepped back. "… got it. I'll be coming back for my nicely washed clothes safely with Shizu-chan. Affirmative." Izaya said with a nervous chuckle, even adding a tiny joke at Vorona's strange accent.
As they made their way out after their goodbyes. At the hallway to the main entrance, Izaya suddenly froze and quickly fled up to the ceiling. Shizuo turned and looked back and up at Izaya, confused as to what had frightened the vampire to make his hasty flight.
Just then, Father Shiki was there, heading out from the chapel after his morning prayers. Shizuo cursed inwardly as he was the man he didn't want to bump into the most. Then he bowed as the good Father approached him.
"Ah, leaving so soon," said the priest with grey eyes and white cloak.
"Yes Father. The earlier we… vanquish the vampires, the faster I can clear Izaya's name… I figured," there was more but Shizuo didn't feel the need to express the rest.
"That's wonderful. But remember you're going there to save the people as well as eliminating those who defy the name of the Lord."
"Aah… yes Father," Shizuo groaned inwardly. He really should work on how to word things better. He hoped what he said wasn't going to get them into more trouble.
Shiki noticed the young hunter's impatience and placed his hand on top of his head, "Go with my blessing, my son."
Shizuo closed his eyes in a short prayer and the Father walked away.
After Father Shiki was gone, Shizuo quietly called out, "Izaya? You there?"
There was a flapping of wings as the vampire came down hissing, standing right behind Shizuo as if the man could somehow shield him even further from the priest.
"You… don't like him?" Shizuo asked as he turned his head. The vampire just hissed some more and kept walking, not bothering to answer the blond hunter.
Shizuo made a mental note on the encounter. Izaya never feared other humans. In fact, he had boldly walked around the church a day earlier, scaring the sisters for fun it seemed.
"Remember, Izaya has enemies in this church, those who had tortured him for years walking around in this very church."
Shinra's words rang in Shizuo's ears. Could it be…?
Father Shiki was one of them?
Author's Note: I'm SO VERY SORRY for the late update. I was super busy with work x.x;;; And I have other projects lined up. But hey, at least I wrote you a 8,200+ words chapter update? ;_; I'll try to finish few more chapters faster. The fic is still in the beginning stages... i'm so sad someone thought i ended it with just chapter 3. I'm sorry i'm a slow updater... but i'll still update my fics. Im so sorry...
Thank you for still reading this ;_; and i'll try to write chapter 5 faster. It'll be their first mission! ahaha, can't wait! *hearts*
Thank you for all the reviews ;_;