Edited: 06/01/2016. Altered history, and mentions of some characters/historical figures. Many thanks to katBelle for the beta.
His Predator and His Prey
Chapter Four
I'm dying, Shizuo thought as he slumped into his own futon, and tried to get some rest. Even if he was the strongest person around Ikebukuro, Heiwajima Shizuo was not invincible like everyone believed. The blond Alpha was so exhausted that he didn't even have the strength to bitch about their room arrangement. He would be sleeping with his group mates, which was fine with him, except that the flea was among them. After his little vomit incident, their teacher had assigned them into groups according to their bus seats, and neither he nor Izaya was happy that they had to work together, along with Shinra and Kadota.
The term 'cooperation' and 'working together' did not exist between Shizuo and Izaya. There was only 'destruction' and 'beating each other's ass' until all hell would break loose, and that's exactly what had happened today – flying vending machines, and street signs raining down the streets. The confused locals were completely terrified by the havoc Izaya and Shizuo brought anywhere they went, and it kind of felt like they hadn't left Ikebukuro at all.
They were in Kyoto, the former Imperial capital of their country, and staying at a Ryokan, or a traditional style inn. With the flea in the same room, Shizuo suddenly wanted to go home. Forget about the beautiful temples, shrines, gardens, and imperial palaces. He could be dead by morning. Izaya was the kind of bastard who would slit his throat with his fancy switchblade the moment he let his guard down.
Annoyed that he couldn't get any sleep and still clad in his uniform, Shizuo decided to try the onsen. Shinra and Kadota must have gone there by now, because the flea was nowhere to be seen. Izaya probably couldn't stand to be in the same room as him either, to the point of booking another room, but unfortunately his things were still here. The flea had left his duffel bag open, and since it made him slightly curious he started to rummage through Izaya's things. For all he knew, the louse had hidden a bomb and was waiting for it to explode while Shizuo's slept. But he only found a supply of toiletries. A large supply. Shizuo never would've guessed that the flea was finicky about hygiene. "Huh? What's this?"
Before he could take it out, the shoji doors suddenly slide open. "I would've never taken Shizu-chan for a thief."
"Hah? I'm not stealing anything you son of a bitch," Shizuo growled.
Izaya just looked at him as if he didn't believe a word he said. "Hoh~ then what are you doing with my bag?" he said with an edge in his voice, his crimson eyes narrowing into a sharp glare, and his lips slightly twitching into a tense line. The flea appeared to be nervous, and he looked like a drenched rat with his yukata hanging loosely around him.
"Did you drown in the onsen or something?" Shizuo asked instead, but Izaya didn't answer him and snatched the bag away from his hold rather harshly. "What the fuck flea? If you want it back, you could've asked nicely." He couldn't help but notice how Izaya's dark hair was still dripping wet from his bath, and he smelled kind of nice. The blond Alpha mentally shook his head, and wanted to punch himself for thinking such a thing. It was the flea, for fuck's sake! He must still be very tired.
"It's my bag, and you know I would never be nice to a monster." Izaya had already closed the door, taking the bag with him, before the pillow could hit his smug little face. Shizuo clicked his tongue in irritation, and wondered about that suspicious looking bottle of pills in the louse's bag. It must be a medicine of some sort. Izaya should go die, for all he cared. He should've drowned while taking a goddamn bath and things would be easier for him.
The next day, Shizuo was feeling much better as his class proceeded with their sightseeing in the 'Thousand-Year Capital'. After visiting the shogunate's castle his group went to the grave of the famous special police force during the Bakumatsu period, the Shinsengumi. Men dressed in light blue haori with 'white mountain stripes' trim on the sleeves, gray hakama, and headbands inscribed with the word makoto, or sincerity, were scattered around the site. They were even carrying swords tucked into their belt, to complete the Shinsengumi uniform. A lot of tourists were attracted to take a picture, and Shizuo fiddled with his own phone in his pocket.
"Awww~ does Shizu-chan want to take a picture with the dogs of Bakufu?"
Shizuo was having such a good time that he'd forgotten the flea was supposed to be in his group. At the reminder a vein instantly bulged on his forehead. It would be disrespectful to the great warriors resting here to start a fight. The guide suddenly posed a question regarding the name of the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi, and Shizuo enthusiastically raised a hand. "It's Hijikata Toshiro," he answered rather proudly, and Izaya laughed beside him. "What the fuck is funny, flea?"
"Nee nee, Shizu-chan. Can you tell me who was the first troop captain of the Shinsengumi?"
"It was Okita Sougo."
"And the commander?"
"Kondo Isao," Shizuo flatly replied with a scowl, his hands itching to tear apart the limbs of this lunatic laughing madly at him while slapping his thigh and holding his stomach. Shizuo hoped the flea would run out of breath soon and die.
Izaya wiped the tear forming in the corner of his eye. "No wonder Shizu-chan failed his recent Japanese History test! Shizu-chan watched too much Gintama. Well, I can't blame you, that anime is really entertaining." He snickered. "Shizu-chan even sounds proud of his answers, but in reality he got all of their names wrong!" The blond Alpha was now blushing in embarrassment and anger as Izaya patted his back in fake sympathy. "That's okay, the Shinsengumi was often acclaimed as brave and determined heroes in popular culture; they even had their own otome game! But in truth, they were just a band of ruthless murderers," Izaya said with a grim smile. "A proud, but a foolish bunch of Alphas who died like dogs trying to protect their beliefs and pansy shogun...the Shinsegumi were not heroes, they were just tools for war."
Shizuo knitted his eyebrows. "What are you getting at?"
Izaya's crimson eyes gleamed into something that spoke of danger and contempt. "Do you know there are historical rumors and claims that the successor of the Tokugawa shogunate at that time was an Omega? And what's more, the little lord had an illicit affair with one of the Shinsengumi's unit commander! A likely lowlife Omega managed to trick a predominant Alpha to his death, oh look how the tables have turned!" He raised both of his hands dramatically.
"I'm not interested in gossip from the past, but an informant like you takes a fancy on conspiracies, right? A nosy flea like you should've been born in that era; it would've spared me the trouble of trying to disembowel you."
Izaya's laughter greeted his ears. "You think it's a conspiracy? Well, I don't expect Shizu-chan to believe me, but it's the truth. And it's not like a single-celled organism like you would understand." The louse must have already foreseen his movement as he swiftly dodged his punches, laughing in that grating voice of his. "Shizu-chan's attacks are so predictable, it's getting boooring~!" Izaya teased. The blond Alpha started to chase him down the hill and into the quiet streets until they turned the corner, and Shizuo was suddenly sent flying as he got hit by an incoming truck. He landed at the far end of the street, and the flea looked down at him. "Even in Kyoto, Shizu-chan still falls for the same trick like in Ikebukuro. Shizu-chan is really hopeless, nee~?"
"Fuck you," Shizuo hissed, and lay his head back down with his arms and legs sprawled on the ground, as he stared up at the clear blue sky. Kyoto would be a really beautiful city rich in history, if it weren't for the flea polluting the air. Shizuo closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. He felt like throwing up again, and sensed the tip of Izaya's switchblade poking into his cheek, in a mock attempt to wake him up.
"Oiii, Shizu-chaaan, wakey wakey you single-celled monster~ are you already dead? If you are, please stay still while I slit your throat for confirmation." Shizuo immediately snapped his eyes open when he felt the cold metal running down his skin and twisted Izaya's wrist as he dropped his weapon. He heard the flea hissed in pain, and tried to break free from his death grip. "You're hurting me, Shizu-chan."
"You're asking for it, Izaya-kun," Shizuo said with a wide scary smile, but reluctantly let him go when he felt his stomach churning up again. "Tch, I guess I need to take a dump first, so kill you later," the blond Alpha grumbled, and abruptly stood up.
"You don't have to tell me that, you disgusting Neanderthal."
Time seemed to fly by, and without realizing it, it was already nighttime and the last night of their school trip. They would be leaving tomorrow morning and Shizuo couldn't wait to get the hell out of here. He couldn't sleep very well knowing that he was in the same room, breathing in the same air as the flea who might murder him in his sleep. Moreover, his stomach slightly hurt, and there was a high chance that Izaya had poisoned his food. I'm going to kill him when we get back to Ikebukuro.
Shizuo removed his clothes, folding them properly to place them on his locker, and went out of the changing room with a towel wrapped around his waist. The open air bath was really wide, and it had been a long time since he'd been to an onsen. He dipped his foot in first, and the water felt really nice against his skin as he slowly submerged himself up to his neck. It was really relaxing, and this trip could've been honestly fun, if only the flea hadn't constantly been there to annoy him.
Maybe someday he would come back here to Kyoto with his wife or girlfriend, if he ever found one. With his current strength though everyone was afraid to approach him. Shizuo couldn't help but feel slightly depressed.
Soft voices reached the blond Alpha's ears and Shizuo realized he wasn't the only one taking a dip in the onsen. He just minded his own business, since they weren't disrupting his peace. Well, they weren't until a loud moan echoed throughout the bath. Shizuo caught his breath. It was a male's voice. He heard another two or four more voices talking quietly. "I told you to gag the other one." Shizuo immediately knew why he felt so sick to his stomach. The air and water surrounding him were infested with bacteria coming from his kind. He should've known better what this trip had in store.
Sex was one of the basic needs of any living species. It feed their lust, especially that of the Alphas and Omegas who both had high sex drives. Teenagers, newborns like them who had just awakened to their primal selves, were often secluded in a room for the length of their heat, as they were more vulnerable to their desires. Virgins who had no sexual experience before their awakening were likely getting more excited. Shizuo could hear the pleas and moans, and the ragged breaths of those fuckers who sounded like they were having a great time raping their fellow classmate. And there were those poor Omegas…
If there was a crueler fate than being an Omega, it would be being a male Omega. Born and raised their whole life as a man, until the day they turned into something else. Shizuo would never know how it felt, but he could imagine the pain of existing between sexes. Many had lost their standings and gave up on their future once they'd accepted the dreadful truth. Offspring with male Omegas were said to be healthier and stronger despite there being no scientific basis to back it up. Yet omiai or arranged marriages were still common practice in the Japanese society.
He once knew a guy from his middle school that excelled in all academics and was granted a scholarship in a prestigious university, but his dreams were taken away from him after his awakening. The last time Shizuo had heard about him, he was married off to some rich Alpha. And there were various cases of Omega trafficking, which was a lot worse.
The blond Alpha thought of leaving the bath, but froze as he tried to get up because the water made a lot of noise. The last thing he needed was to be caught and accused of peeping, or worse, be invited to join their activity. Aside from the usual brawls, Shizuo had received a lot of offers in the past few days, all of which had ended with numerous broken bones as he sent the sick bastards to the hospital. Gangbangs weren't his thing. It was a common crime, one that happened more and more lately, and sadly the police weren't taking it seriously because all of the victims were male Omegas.
Shizuo didn't get it, why fucking another guy was more exciting than doing it with a girl. He had first witnessed that frenzied excitement in a public park when he saw a guy being shoved into a tree, in the middle of the day where anyone could see. Three guys were ramming into him from behind and when they were done, they had peed and spit on the traumatized guy's face.
Sex should be done with love and affection, but what the blond Alpha had witnessed on that day was plain mockery. A mockery of all men who had developed a womb – a gift for some maybe, but for the majority of male Omegas it was a slap on the face. They would never be treated as equals again, and as if the original slap wasn't enough, some would take advantage of it and rub it in their faces until they broke and shattered their pride. Sex became just another battle for dominance, one that many Alphas liked to partake.
Shizuo hated violence.
Shizuo was against violence.
And Shizuo despised those fucking Alphas who took advantage of others, but the Alpha in him was gorging on the sweet cries of an Omega, drowning out his other self. He slapped his cheeks rather hard, hard enough to leave a bruise, in order to snap him out of his senses. He would not give in to his desires, and the flea suddenly popped up in his mind. If there was one person who would like to turn him into a monster it would be Izaya. The blond Alpha had no doubt that the louse had set this whole thing up, trying to push his buttons to unleash the beast hidden within him.
As if on cue, and not just from afar, he spotted a familiar mop of dark hair and crimson eyes, holding a video camera. "Iiizaaayaaa-kuun."
