Chapter 7: He Must Protect

Going into this place unnoticed was as simple as solving a Rubix cube in under a minute. In other words it required skill, a skill that seem to fly pass the blonde's head making Izaya grit his teeth for what felt like he hundredth time when he heard a loud thunk once again. Hasn't this man heard of stealth before? It wasn't that difficult, really.

"I know being quiet is not the normal thing for a monster like you to do…But would it kill you try Shizu-chan?" The raven hissed as quietly as he could pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Someone's coming." Shizuo said quietly before pulling Izaya into the vacant room to their right, holding him close to his chest. Izaya squirmed a little in his hold feeling a rush of emotions we was avoiding like the plague. "Oi, let me go you brute." The raven hissed as quietly as he could and quickly snapped his lips closed when the sound of footsteps was heard down the hall.

Shizuo glued himself closer to the wall and his hold on the info broker tightened making a heavy blush spread across pale cheeks. This was not ok! Why the hell was he holding him so close? Why was he even holding him in the first place? It's abnormal, it's weird, oh but it feels so right. For him at least, not that he'd openly admit it. Stupid protozoan…doesn't even know what he's doing to his poor brain? His beautiful brain is overworked.

"I think he's gone." The blonde said after a few minutes passed, making Izaya jump from his daze.

"Then let me go now Shizu-chan." The shorter man grumbled in a soft tone, hoping he'd feel the strong arms wrapped around him for a while longer, even though he knew that was impossible. Why would the bartender hold something he hates so close to him longer than necessary?

"Don't want to."

…What?

"I must have heard wrong. Did Shizu-chan just say he won't let go of me?" The raven asked in confusion, the warm bubbly feeling returning at the pit of his stomach as he tilted his head to the right and back to peer at his captive.

"What? I've never caught you before. Might as well cherish the moment." Came the nonchalant drawl as the blonde returned his gaze back to the window the door provided.

The raven was left utterly speechless. How stupid could this man be?! Does he not realize the implications of his words? He just practically said he enjoyed having him in his arms! That's ridiculous, he can't possibly…What an idiot. Izaya attempted to scold his features and cool down his cheeks before he spoke again. "S-shizu-chan…Let me go we have a job to do." He said meekly half-heartedly, wiggling out of the arms that surrounded him, as he attempted to bring back some type of normalcy. He felt a light tightening, before he was released. Izaya really could not understand the thought process the blonde functioned in. It was causing him mental whiplash and messing with his emotions, he really needs to distance himself from this man…

"You're really small Izaya-kun."

"Excuse me?" Izaya asked as he fixed his parka when he faced him. Did he just call him small? He was 5 foot 6 inches, perfectly normal average height for a male! He might have seem small compared to Shizuo's 6 foot 2 inches, but did he really have to say it?

"You're small." Came Shizuo's casual drawl and an added shrug before he opened the door and slipped back out. Leaving behind a bewildered informant who followed his lead and walked down the hall the men came.

"I don't see why that matters," Izaya mumbled quietly to himself as he maneuvered his way in front of the taller man and motioned him inside another room. "This is Takahiro's office." Once inside he quickly went to Takahiro's desk to see if he could find schematics of the building to see if it was possible for a temporary holding cells within the building. However, during his cyber search he found three encrypted files that caught his eyes. What dirty secrets could Takahiro be hiding?

"His room stinks." The informant heard Shizuo say and he only grunted in response as he began hacked into the files. His curiosity driving him to work faster.

"Like it really stinks…" Shizuo growled as he walked closer to the door to keep watch. "Hurry up tiny flea." The blond stated and grinned when Izaya shot him a glare. Couldn't the bodyguard do anything else besides annoy the hell out of him?

"Will you be quiet? I'm busy." Izaya hissed as went back to typing up codes to break the firewalls placed on the files. He silently cheered when he finally got one file opened and dragged the file onto his USB for a later time and went to the next file. The second file didn't take much time and again he repeated what he did with the first and quickly moved to the next. The last file though harder to decode was finally opened, and the first thing he witnessed was a picture. "Shit." The other files were normal, ordinary Russian reports. These….why would he-

"Flea we shouldn't be here too long-why the hell is your face on the screen? Is that a picture of you in your office?" Shizuo asked as he leaned in closer to the frozen man next to him and scrolled down. Many of the photos were of the informant lounging around his apartment though there were a few of him sleeping and judging by the angle it had to be taken within the room. There were few of the twins but they looked much older.

"Oi, is this recent?" Shizuo asked pointing at the last picture of a profile of Izaya stretching his arms above his head as he yawned situated in his favorite leather cahir facing the wall.

"Yes," Came a quiet reply as Izaya narrowed his eyes at the image.

"Last nght?"

"Yes! Last night!" Izaya exploded. "But…No, this can't be right. I…I stopped this when I went away! Why does he have this?! He shouldn't! It's not possible!" Izaya hissed as he quickly reclosed all the files and erased all traces of his hacking. He shouldn't have those photos, he erased the caused months ago. How is this possible? He went all the way to Hokkaido to end it! It ENDED. Why?

"Oi flea, what the fuck is this? Why does he have picture of you?" Shizuo growled as he clenched his fist tightly a visible tremble kept in his arms. "He's stalkng you!" He yelled and Izaya covered his mouth with his hand.

"Quiet you idiotic protozoan! Or we'll be found, we need to leave. Now." He said and grabbed his wrist and dragged him along. When he stepped out he realized a huge mistake. The same cameras he ruined over a week ago were replaced and staring right down the corridor they walked down previously. "Fuck!" He hissed and mentally pounded his head on an imaginary brick wall for his own stupidity. This is why he works alone, less distractions.

"What?" The debt collector asked as he stepped out with the frustrated man.

"Cameras."
"What?"

"Cameras. I forgot the cameras! They know we're here, he's fucking toying with us! Don't you get it? It's a fucking trap you idiot!" Izaya yelled throwing his arms up in the air uncharacteristically.

"Oh."

"This is why I work alone. Just go left, we're going through the front." He snapped and pushed him roughly in that direction and in anger flung a knife at the camera. Each and every camera that passed was met with the same fate, they wouldn't stop them. They didn't even try to in the first place. He wanted them to pass on through, he wanted those files decoded. When they made a right they met with a suited man and the man soon found himself pressed against the wall by the neck looking up to an enraged blonde.

"Ahh…perfect. It seems like your protozoan brain gets that I need a messenger, you'll do lovely." Izaya smirked as he toyed with his switch blade and calmly rubbed the cold blade along the cheek of the shaken man. "I'll make this quick. Does Takahiro Higarashi work for Enzu?" He asked the man who nodded hesitantly.

"Ah, makes things easier then. Good. Good. Was he in Hokkaido at any point in the last two years?" He received another nod and small whimper when Shizuo tightened his hold growling.

"Bad Shizu-chan, I need him alive." He chided and lightly tapped his hand with the blade before pressing it to the man's cheek. "Than my message is this: I will find the whereabouts of the missing members of the Eiji group, and I will personally deal with him afterwards…I will find out what he gains from Enzu, and I will end it. Is that clear?" He asked with sinister smile getting another whimper and furious shake of agreement.

"Perfect, then we depart here. Come along Shizu-chan our time here is done." He said calmly and re-pocketd his blade and tugged on the debt collectors arm until he let go. The man fell to his knees coughing and gasping in both fear and lack of air.

"Let's go." Izaya insisted as he pulled Shizuo to the front of the store where customers went about their daily lives. Calming down was difficult but needed in order to have his regular demeanor to face the public. Yet it wasn't until they were outside on the street for away from the delis that he realized that the blonds arm was trembling in anger.

"Shizu-chan?"

"I'll kill him." The blond grunted as readjusted his sunglasses. His stare was even and determined as he looked down on the raven, making a warm feeling slowly stir within the shorter male.

"What do you mean? Kill…who exactly?" Izaya asked with bated breath as the warm feeling began to consume and burn his entire body.

"That stalker bastard! He was in your home! It's sick, he took creepy pictures of you! I'll kill him!" The blond growled pulled his pack of cigarettes that was free of Izaya's hold. Izaya quickly let him go and cleared his throat softly waiting for the man to calm down as they walked to a nearby park.

"Yes, well he's not your problem he's mine. Once I find where your people are being held your business with me will be done." Izaya said simply, but he couldn't stop the empty feeling he felt when he realized their time like this will end soon.

"No it won't." Shizuo snorted as he blew out a cloud of smoke slowly relaxing but still very tense with anger.

"What?"

"I said it won't. I'll kill the bastard so, you're stuck with me till then" He said simply and flicked the dried off end of the cigarette.

"You're being weird again. It's like you care. Stop it." Izaya said glaring at the blond only receiving a shrug in return. The brute couldn't actually care could he? No he didn't. He probably some irrational reasoning that let him want to stay with him longer than necessary. Like only he could have dirt on him or something and no one else. Ya, something stupid like that.

"You've been weirder. So I say we're even." Shizuo said before he took another drag of his cigarette, getting an annoyed grunt.

"Whatever, I'm leaving our job is done for the day." Izaya said nonchalantly still weirded out by the casual way they were speaking with ach other. They were enemies weren't they? It was plain bizarre. His mind became goo as he began to think of reasons why their relationship evolved to, whatever this was. Enemies, but not quiet friends. He knew he cared for Shizuo, but could the same really be said for Shizuo? Why would he care for him? He had no reason too. He sighed again as tried to erase the blond from his mind for the moment. He had more serious matters to deal with. Like how Takahiro Higarashi got a hold of those picture. Was he the one taking them? Enzu said he took them, unless he lied which could be a possibility. If he really didn't and paid someone to take them, that could explain some of it, but not all of it. Why keep the photos? Izaya sighed in frustration and nearly choked at the smoke that filled his lunges.

Wait. Smoke?

Izaya quickly turned to look to his left and saw the blond next to him. "Shizu-chan? What are you still following me for?!" Izaya asked shocked and took a few steps to the side.

"Protection." Shizuo said as he faced him blowing the smoke away from the smaller man.

"From what? I don't need protection." Izaya glared as he stopped in his tracks glaring at him.

"Maybe, still coming with you." He responded as he squished the cigarette out ending its original embers.

"Go home Shizu-chan." Izaya hissed before stomping away to his home.

"No, I'm coming with you. Better yet I'll move in." He said causally as he stuffed his hands into his slacks.

It was at that moment that Izaya's mind completely shut down, what did he just walk into?

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I'm so sorry for those of you who could not read this I hope this is readable. I dunno what happened to it the first time...