Chapter 4
'So we're letting him go just like that?' Celty hesitantly showed Shinra her PDA.
"It can't be helped Celty!" Shinra said, crossing his arms as he watched Izaya slowly walk away, hands in his pockets as he adorned that infamous fur coat of his, "I don't want to take care of him, you don't want to take care of him, we both don't want to take care of him! The hospital refuses to take him if he's got company, so what can we do?"
'...'
Izaya didn't know what to feel, so he just kept his face neutral. He had a friend, not-friend named Shinra Kishitani, who happened to be an underground doctor, who was also in a relationship with a dullahan named Celty Sturluson. The 'headless' girlfriend had a helmet on, so he couldn't see if what he said was true but he definitely wanted to find out.
The hospital didn't want him around. There had been many bad incidents recently, and there were many other patients that could use the bed. He also got the feeling that the hospital had made a background check on him, and know of his not-so-friendly occupation as a information broker. Therefore, he was kicked out to be taken care of by his 'friends', who despite their efforts, made it obvious that he wasn't well liked.
He didn't want to hang around people who didn't want him around anyways - at least that's what he told himself. Before they abandoned him, he made sure to milk as much information as he could out of them… he didn't want to be completely helpless. Thanks to Shinra and Celty's explanations, the strange world he lived in began to become more understandable… and strange. He liked it that way.
'Be careful on your way home.'
The headless woman seemed worried. The doctor had his business smile fixed on, and agreed with his girlfriend seemingly just for the sake of agreeing. With not many experiences to go on, Izaya decided to run on instinct since it was the most accurate thing he was equipped with so far. His instinct was telling him he wasn't appreciated.
"Don't worry about it Celty-san," Izaya smiled wryly, cocking his head back with a certain amount of attitude, "I'm sure you're soooo worried about me, but relax, I'll be fine~"
He didn't care if his words stung or not, he just wanted to get settled somewhere and start reclaiming his life. It was unsettling to be in a city he didn't know, with people he didn't recognize. Maybe the old him would have known them like the back of his palm, but the current Izaya was clueless as ever. If only someone trustworthy would help him out through the process, but not even the doctor would. He had great friends, and he could tell.
Then again, perhaps he should be more thankful. The person seeming worried about him wasn't even human, but it was someone.
"I joke, don't mind me," Izaya spoke up again, catching the attention of the dullahan, "Thanks for worrying about me... I appreciate your concern."
Celty seemed surprise at his gratitude and almost flustered at his sudden remark, 'A-ah, no problem. Sorry we can't help you while you're in this state.'
Izaya frowned. The message she was conveying was not true.
"It's not that you can't help me, but you won't help me is that not so?" Izaya said, stuffing some guilt into the woman's heart, "And please, you make me sound disabled."
Celty seemed to still as she absorbed his words into her smokey, non-existent brain. She looked almost apologetic, and regretful. She seemed to be typing another message on her PDA, when Shinra's bright and fluffy voice came sailing into the room along with him himself, "CEEELLTTYYYYYYY MY LOVE AND ONE AND ONLYYYY! IT IS LATE AND WE MUST COMBINE INTO ONE IN THE CASTLE WE CALL THE BED, HERE I COOOMEEEE- OOOFOFF!"
Izaya grinned. There was some amusement to be found in watching Shinra get beat up by his headless girlfriend.
Now wandering 'home' (Shinra had given him the address), he was especially cautious of a blonde-haired bartender. He didn't want to be thrashed, right after being hospitalized with a head injury. He doubted he had any of the fighting abilities Shinra described him to have at the moment, and Izaya didn't want to die just when, as far as he was concerned, he hadn't even started living yet.
Despite his worries, the city awed him. The lights that were starting to glow as the sun set, the sound of people walking and talking, cars driving around, it was so intriguing. He wanted more, and didn't want to stop listening and listening and listening.
He had to get home though. First get a grasp of who he was, how he worked, and all before he enjoyed himself in the company of people. Izaya leaped on a train to Shibuya, using the money he had found in the wallet he received back from the hospital (the wallet apparently his - it was loaded, to the point where his hospital bill was nothing), and the address led him to an high end apartment, with shiny windows and a homely feel to it.
Even as he waited for the elevator to reach his floor, Izaya was in awe of the wealth. Even the measly elevator music seemed high quality, and it made him wonder how much he really earnt to be able to live in this grand place.
When he came to the room that was apparently his, Izaya fumbled around his wallet for his room card, deciding he would explore this labyrinth of money as soon as he was in bed. It wasn't needed, because before he could even slide the card into the scanner, the door opened by itself, to reveal a slim woman.
The woman had nice long brown hair, and a green sweater. She would have looked rather nice, if it wasn't for the scowl that adorned her face like a pimple adorned a nose.
"About time you got back. Do you know how many meals I had to refrigerate for you? Four. I stopped cooking by yesterday. I think I deserve a vacation, after you made me do all the paperwork alone and spend all my precious time in your stinking apartment when I could have been spending precious time with Seiji," She spat, and glared at icily.
It took a while to react, as he tried to remember what a woman could be doing in his apartment. He didn't have a girlfriend or any close family that lived with him according to Shinra, except… his secretary. If only he could remember her name.
"Sorry 'bout that," he replied, as he entered his apartment. He could still feel her stare on his back, even as he entered the room, "Got hit in the head. Got amnesia. Go ahead and take a vacation, but do mind that you're not getting paid."
"What?" She asked initially, confused by what he was saying but shrugged, deciding she didn't care, "Fine! I need the money though, so I'll be back in a few days."
"Bye~ have fun~!" Izaya called, as she grabbed her coat and slammed the door behind her. What an interesting woman, Izaya decided as he took the chance to look around his apartment. It was large, with two floors and lots of books and high quality technology. Sleek looking couches, silky blankets and a soft sultry bed. A great view of the city. Izaya didn't need to look twice to know that he liked this place.
Looking in the fridge, he found the meals his secretary was talking about - some fish, some vegetables, some rice… he silently thanked his secretary for the meal and ate it, while searching through his computer. There were many interesting files, about many different incidents and many different people - which he made note of, deciding to memorize what he could later.
He glanced at the clock, to find that it was getting late. He searched around his cabinets to find what seemed to be his sleepwear. It was so comfortable, Izaya believed that he didn't even need the bed. He flopped onto the mountain of cushions and blankets, and sighed contently as he sunk into the bed.
"I really like this place…" Izaya grumbled, as he rolled around in the blankets that seemed to engulf him in an embrace of warmth. He was mixed into a world he wasn't familiar with, and a job he was sure would bring many dangers, and people who hated his guts. Izaya could sense the troubles that lied ahead. His heartbeat quickened at the thought, out of fear or elation he did not know. He stared emptily at the ceiling, letting his problems sink into his head before he frowned and closed his eyes.
"Whatever."
