Chapter 4-IV
Disclaimer: I do not own Durarara, nor do I wish to.
Please read the A/N s and please R&R/fave/follow as it helps the flames of author inspiration going.
Phew! Another chapter done! Unlike with the last chapter, I'm actually pleased with this one. After this chapter, this fic gets very interesting and we get to the real meat of the plot!
"Bounces in excitement"!
It's probably the longest P.O.V I have written yet for a single character (which is good for you, my dear readers as you get a whole chapter of Izaya being Izaya!)
An anon review left me worried that I had made Shizuo OOC last chapter. So I just want to clarify that he wasn't super duper violent because his mother had told him (he reacted with disbelief at first and if anyone else had told him -apart from maybe, Kasuka or his father- he would have punched them outright, but its his mother). Anyways, he was really angry at the end of the chapter, hence the door slamming...(he left home before he had a violent outburst basically).
Lastly, I have exams coming in two weeks, so I'll try to update before then, but knowing me… (My other fic is just being a pain! I have writers block the size of a mountain to overcome!)
It was a late and somewhat sweltering Sunday afternoon, unseemly overcast by grey clouds that heralded the threat of rain. Nevertheless, sunshine sixty and the surrounding streets were alive with the never-ending throng of people, all enjoying the last free hours they had before the inevitable conclusion of the weekend.
Izaya hummed as he watched them, all of them, since human observation was the one real passion he had. He adored seeing his beloved humans interact with one other, especially when something interesting or disruptive entered their mundane lives, and due to being far above them in a mental and ethereal sense, he could deconstruct all with meticulous glee. For instance, a group –no a clique- of female middle schoolers near him had gotten into an argument over a love confession between two of their members. He could hear everything in their heated exchange; there were talks of "disrupting the dynamic of their elite club" and a fierce verbal battle over whether it was "right or not, even if they had ended up bonded". It would be easy, deliciously easy, for him to go over there and derail the exchange, in the process dissolving a few, apparently long-held, friendships…
Strangely however, the thought of it did not give him any joy. Instead of the malicious enjoyment he had expected to feel, even at the possibility of intervening, all he felt was boredom and an expectation that he could spend his time doing… something better.
Izaya tapped his foot against the railing he was leaning against; he had paid the train fare and taken the half hour journey to Ikkebukuro from his home with the expectation of finding someone naïve or insipid to manipulate. But whatever he found could not entertain or even arouse his attentions.
Instead of manipulating others, all he could think of doing was fighting and playing with Shizu-chan and his emotions.
Since he could not get the blond out of his head, no matter how hard he tried, he had eventually conceded defeat to his wants and was now scouring the surrounding neighbourhoods in search of the beast of Ikkebukuro.
But wherever he looked, he could not find the damn protozoan.
I know that Shizu-chan lives somewhere around here… why am I even contemplating this? Why am I wasting my time on a dumb beast that isn't even human? He shrugged. I have been thinking about Shizu-chan way too much recently, I need to get more sleep and ignore him…
Suddenly, his phone rang and he answered it without pause, since the tone was one he used exclusively for his one certain friend, Shinra Kishitani.
"What is it Shinra?" he intoned casually, or as casually as he could be.
"Umm, is everything okay?" Shinra questioned meekly. "I haven't had a heart to heart with you for a while, so I just wondered how things were going"
"Is something wrong Shinra? You sound very worried about me." Izaya sniggered silently. "Oh I know what this is about, your all up in arms about me contacting Igarashi and planning my first proper foray into Tokyo's criminal underworld".
"That's not-"
"Oh I know it is Shinra. Thank you, but you don't need to get your knickers into a twist for my sake. To me, Igarashi is a means to an end, once I break some ground and get some proper contacts, I'm going to cut all ties with him and make him into a joke-".
"I'm not talking about that slime ball, Izaya" Shinra hurriedly exclaimed, real concern clear in his voice.
Momentarily stunned by his friends' tone, all Izaya could do was listen dumbly to his next words.
"Even if I've only seen him once, I know that he's bad for you. He's not harmless Izaya; Igarashi is a real criminal, even if just a minor one. He's not like the lowlife you've done dealings with before. If you piss him off…" He could hear Shinra take a deep stuttering breath. "Forget that for now, I'm concerned about something more immediate… It's Shizuo, have you seen him?" Shinra asked heatedly.
"Oh, you're just asking about him. Has Shizu-chan done something, something stupid and typical of him?" he said exultantly, shock melting at the mention of his archenemy and a snide edge entering his voice.
"He's gone off and… he left home because his mother told him a piece of information which caused him to get very angry-"
"So he's gone off on one of his rambles around the city, which means that he's likely to get into a fight in his bad mood…" Izaya remarked slyly. "May I ponder as to why?"
"I told him… that he and you were probably soul mates, latent –unbound- soul mates to be exact".
Shinra's words only surprised him for a few brief seconds; then he began to laugh, it was a deep high pitched sound that caused him to shake with the force of it. He even mockingly wiped a few fake tears from his eyes, just for his own amusement.
"Ahh Shinra, I haven't laughed so hard for such a long time…you must be pretty deluded to even think such a thing could be possible".
"I have proof Izaya! A big point is that you both keep on mentioning the want to make physical contact with each other. This is a common indicator of a latent bond, according to an article I found… Izaya if you don't fulfill a bond then it could be bad for your health. Knowing you, I bet that you were musing on Shizuo just before I made this call and I think that-"
"You think what Shinra? I should go up to Shizu-chan and explain everything to him, then he'll miraculously calm down and I'll invite him to tea so we can bond in a stable environment and have a great big party to celebrate the fact. Your just confused about a common fact of life Shinra, were both enemies and he's the only thing I hate in existence. But, most of all I don't even think Shizu-chan is human, just some dumb beast… so how can I possibly be his Soulmate?" Izaya bit back.
"Look, is this about what happened with your father-"
"Uh-Uh Shinra, you must be crazy if you think that that has anything to do with this. I couldn't even care less about that, my father has always just been a typical human for me to observe and love. Oh will you look at the time, I need to go and play with a certain protozoan!"
"Izaya wait-"
He cut off Shinra with a simple flick of his phone and went back to scouring the surrounding neighbourhood. After a few moments, he smiled and headed for a nearby alley, senses alert for any sign of his intended target.
Luckily, he heard a familiar roar and several crashes only a few blocks from him. Izaya's smile grew into one of his trademark gloating grins and his pace unconsciously increased.
After a few twists and turns through the labyrinth of alleys, he was greeted to what could only be, for him, a glorious sight.
Corned in a one-way alley, Shizuo stood facing a group of delinquents, the same one that Izaya had deliberately set on him not a week before. They had obviously got it into their stupid thick heads that they could take Shizu-chan on if they took him by surprise.
It would have been very amusing to watch them fail.
Sadly he would have to speed up the process a bit; firstly, he felt deprived enough of the fierce attentions of his favorite play toy and secondly, he knew that it was his right and his right only to get Shizu-chan so angry…
Dispelling any twinges of jealousy, Izaya put his hands into his pockets, fingering his flick blade as he did so, and sauntered jauntily into the open space and everyone's view.
The reactions were instantaneous. Half of the gang members jumped, while the other, including their leader, badly hid that they had as well.
Only Shizuo, dumb as hell yet sharp as a knife Shizuo, stayed unfazed, making it clear that he had expected for him to show up at some point. The only sign that he acknowledged Izaya at all was a furrowing of his scowl and the tightening of his hands on the pole he carried as a current weapon.
Their eyes met, hateful gold to unabashed crimson, Izaya could barely suppress the deep shiver that ran up his spine.
Finally Shizu-chan… we can have some proper fun at last. Both became more focused on the other. Yes, you may be able to see right through me, but your still a stupid beast and can be lead into a scuffle with only a few choice insults… and I revel in that fact, and you know, you know… the fact that you know gives me the most pleasure, it makes me feel…
Wanted
The word slammed into his mind as if from some deep recess, it caused Izaya to blink and he could see that Shizuo had an erstwhile look of bewilderment on his face.
That's not what I was thinking at all, why does shizu-chan-
His musing was cut off by an exclamation from the leader of the louts around him.
"What the fuck are you doing here Izaya? We want to deal with this pussy of a freak on our own"
The remark caused Shizuo to growl and Izaya shared his anger, albeit out of annoyance than a beastly primal feeling.
But he kept his countenance and turned to the thug without a change in his smirk.
"Ahh Oishi! I see that you're out having fun with your little bunch of friends. Unfortunately, you're playing with Shizu-chan when I want to play with him. How will we deal with this?" he got out his switchblade and flicked it open. "Oh I know! You could leave us and do something else…" he said slowly, without pause.
"I-Izaya, your'-"
"I know; you've actually displeased me enough for me to actually threaten you personally. So I'd go before I would have to attack you and your group, and be assured, it's a fight I would most definitely win".
The leader flinched and shrank away from him; he began to frantically signal his men for them to leave and despite several disagreeing mutterings, got them all to disappear in several minutes.
Looking back, Izaya could see that the beast was staring at him in dumb confusion and muted anger.
"Now that were alone Shizu-chan…" he said sultrily. "Maybe we could discuss our possible bond".
His words caused his beastly archenemy's eyes to widen in fury and he hoisted his pole up offensively towards him.
"How the hell do you know about that Izaya?" Shizuo barked at him shakily. "I bet it was Shinra… anyway it-it's not true".
Izaya laughed. "I know it's not protozoan, it's just one of Shinra's deranged ideas. Even so, it must have been terribly hard for you. All this time, you have had a faint hope of finding your soul mate, someone who can accept you for who you are, so I can only imagine what you went through when you were told that I was a possibility for your bond. Poor Shizu-chan, poor stupid as an ox Shizu-chan… If it's any consolation, just know that I would never acquiesce to being your soul mate, not even if hell froze over".
In response, Shizuo roared and threw his pole at Izaya. Who dodged it elegantly and immediately went back to sneering at the blonde.
"I wouldn't even want to be bonded to you, ever. So just shut the fuck up about it, please, and go". Shizuo said hoarsely, his voice seething with an undertone of intense rage.
"Have I struck a nerve Shizu-chan? Are you demanding me to leave you alone? Well I'll give the idea some consideration, but I'm really having too much fun to leave".
"B-bastard flea, Ill-"
"Do what Shizu-chan? Your pea sized brain must be working so hard for you to stay calm. Hey! I have an idea; maybe you've already bonded with someone. Your brother! It's only logical; you two are close enough already …"
Shizuo abandoned all thoughts of calm and went for him.
Izaya happily scrambled from the alley and led him towards the main thoroughfare of Sunshine Sixty.
Izaya huffed, the clouds above him had started to grow dark and he had began to try to lose the blonde, wanting to get to cover rather than face the possibility of a chase in the rain.
It's not that I don't enjoy this, because it's the only time I feel alive… Crazily, I've also started to get the urge to touch Shizu-chan again… he thought dryly.
Snapping back to reality, Izaya jumped and barely dodged a trashcan that had been aimed at his head.
Shizuo appeared at the corner he had just gone around.
"I'll break you into little pieces you little shit. I should have murdered you the first time I saw you. You could never ever be bonded to me…I'll prove it to everyone, I'll punch your arrogant face in so that they know we aren't soul mates" he yelled.
"It's good to know you're as testy and as immature as ever Shizu-chan". Izaya bantered back and continued running.
The heavens opened and it began to rain.
"Shit!" Izaya cursed aloud, earning him a victorious look from Shizuo.
"You'll have to stop running soon. Won't you Izaya? Otherwise your precious clothing will get all wet".
Already damp, Izaya cursed and looked ahead.
The once vibrant street that had been full of his precious humans was now almost deserted. Only a few distant figures were covering their heads and scampering in an effort to get out of the rain.
Then he spotted a pair of stairs heading down. A sign announced that it was a connection to Tokyo's underground.
He made way for them.
Unfortunately for him, Shizuo had gotten the same idea and was determined to cut him off.
The air around them was growing thick with something, something that had waited a long time for its moment.
Shizuo let off a burst of speed and reached the top of the stairs just as Izaya did.
He reached for him.
Izaya curved and made an effort to push him.
The result was that Shizuo grabbed his hand for a brief, unnoticed moment before he battered it away.
The world stopped.
Both saw white as their mind and visions veered and adjusted to a new connection. Becoming one for a brief moment at the birth of a new bond, that soon surged with unending strength.
Then the moment ended as Izaya slashed at Shizuo's hand with his blade, afraid of the invasive sensations and the distant but new existence at the corner of his mind.
Both unconsciously ignored the feelings as they were too caught up in current circumstances to face them.
Izaya stumbled down the stairs, away from a stunned Shizuo, switchblade still out.
He pushed his way onto the first train he saw, not even caring if it didn't lead home.
Shivering, Izaya made his way to a seat and wrapped his arms around himself, trying to rid his body of a sudden numbness that had robbed it of all its strength.
Somehow, he could tell that it wasn't because of the rain, because he had barely gotten soaked.
Then his head erupted in pain and he groaned.
His mind was suddenly a weight, a hindrance, he couldn't even think of his beloved humans-
It was getting worse, now there were two large and equal weights.
Poor Izaya… don't worry, things can only get better from this point on! Right?