After a second knock, Izaya looks at Rio and quietly tells her to cover the window. She does. Izaya stands up and walks towards the door. She's amazed at how calm and collective he is about this. The person behind that door could be a friend or an enemy. He swings the door open and Rio hears a loud familiar voice as she makes her way to the kitchen counter.
"Izaya, the men told me you forgot this."
Rio couldn't quite see who was behind the door yet but she already has an idea who. It's the soldier from yesterday.
Izaya takes whatever the man was holding out to him and he invites him in.
"Why didn't you warn me it was you?" Izaya asked sort of annoyed. "We have a system here." Izaya walks over to where Rio is and she sees that the thing the soldier came to drop off is a brown paper bag.
"I wanted to scare you two. Builds character." The man said.
Rio still didn't know his name for he had said earlier that he doesn't want any part of what Izaya does. She sits down not wanting to enter their conversation.
"Did you find out if you're going on a mission?" Izaya asks him.
"Believe it or not, yeah. I have to hunt around in this terrible weather, can you believe that?" The man stands by the door still.
Izaya wants to tell him to sit down but the man needs to be somewhere.
"Stay alive out there." Izaya told him.
"Will do..." He replies. He wasn't wearing his mask back when Izaya was talking to him earlier in the day but now he is. Izaya thought it was because of the girl.
He was going to exit when he turned back towards the two of them and said "you're not coming with?"
Izaya shakes his head "not today."
He nods and turns to leave but then he turns back to Izaya. "This is just a suggestion... But maybe you should tell Shinra to look after that." He said not really pointing to Rio's ankle but insinuating perfectly that it's about her.
Izaya looks over at him and stays silent for a while. "I don't really want to get him involved in this." Izaya finally answers.
The man steps more out of sight behind the door and shrugs "Do what you think is best." And he leaves.
Rio and Izaya sit in silence. She listens to the rain outside to keep herself busy. He takes the bag and walks around the table towards the cabinets.
"What's in it?" She asks.
"Some supplies. Medicine." He answers. She's surprised at how relived he sounded that she didn't ask about Shinra.
"For my ankle?" She continues. She decides it's best not to push things. Though she really wants to ask.
"No. Why? Does it still hurt?"
"Sort of..."
"Go to bed and let's see how you turn up later."
Rio didn't want to go to bed but she knows he's right on this one. She stands up and walks to the hallway. She looks back at him and he pays no attention to her. She sighs heavily and makes her way to the bedroom.
Izaya stores the medicine in a cabinet that is not quite easy to find in the apartment. This was not to keep it away from Rio but from anyone who sneaks their way in the apartment somehow.
He stands up and walks towards the refrigerator that he had filled with new products. He takes out some orange juice and two cups filling them both full. He makes his way to the room.
He enters and she sits on the bed starring over at the end of the mattress.
Taking a sip from his juice, he walks towards her to hand her a glass. She looks up and thanks him.
"No problem." He said quietly and lifts the cup up to his mouth again. It's the second day with her... Izaya finds it hard trying to see how everything is going to play out.
For a long time they both don't exchange words. She takes in the flavor of the juice and so does he. The thunder outside makes it less awkward for them both but it also takes Rio to different places. It was more comfortable than awkward.
"You may sit by the way." She tells him.
He gazes at her and then walks to the edge of the bed. He sits himself down and looks at her ankle.
"I'm feeling better." She says. She didn't want to tell him 'don't worry' because she feels he isn't worrying... Although it seems like he is at times...
He looks down at his drink.
He's not exactly guilty for hurting her, but he knows when something becomes serious. Especially when it interrupts the main plan.
"So... How many days do I have to live?" She asks.
He swallows the juice and looks over at her, "excuse me?"
"Since I'm useless, why not just get it over with. You let go of those others without a second thought or..?"
He narrows his eyes at her but she was serious.
"Did they mean anything to you?" She continues.
He gives her a fake half smile and stands up. He starts to walk out when he turns back to her and says, "Sometimes you have to know when it's time to stop asking questions. Now is a good time." He doesn't let her respond. He leaves and doesn't bother to say good night.
The injured girl sits there wondering if she had hurt his feelings in some way... Maybe the other people did mean something to him. Maybe he had a family member there at some point. Maybe he had a terrible childhood. Or maybe he lost the woman he loved...
Rio presses her lips together and dismisses the thoughts. Everyone right now is hurting. Everyone right now lost someone in some way.
She can't help but feel bad for him. This sort of thing has taken almost all her self pity away... And Izaya might not like the pity... It's actually helping her cope in some way.
She bends over to touch her ankle lightly. It'll be better... But there's no telling that she'll be the only one around... Or if she'll even be around...
She sighs and gets to bed. She pulls the covers over her and looks out at the hallway where he had left saying those cold things to her.
The light was still on... And she'll have to get used to the noise he makes when he's in the kitchen. At least the rain is still smooth sounding.
:::::
There was nothing but silence for too long. She gets up from the bed. The girl looks over at the windows and still sees rain pouring. She came to the conclusion that she can't keep still. She needs to do something now or then she'll regret it.
She walks to the hallway and looks ahead. No light. Quietness. It's almost surreal to her knowing he barely sleeps at all.
She works up the nerve to approach the living room. On her way over there, Rio starts to think heavily on the idea of needing Izaya at all. If she's a danger and can still stay here in this crazy army place then why not send her off with supplies and food to last a week until she can find a new group to hunt with? She stops in her steps. She doesn't want that. This would mean she'd be afraid every night again. This would mean she'd be like an animal again.
She looks around the dark living room. He's nowhere. Did he leave again? If anything, he's the one who can't keep still.
She breathes in and walks to the refrigerator when she hears a soft sigh. She spins herself around to see nothing. Another small sigh. She walks towards the sofa. Izaya lays there wrapped in a blanket. He's asleep. Or at least it seems like it..
The frail girl looks back up at the small kitchen. She wonders if there's still some sliced peaches in the cabinets.
"You're still awake?" She jumps and looks to see Izaya sitting with an annoyed expression on his face.
He places his hand over his eyes and Rio says, "I-I was hungry..."
He nods and stands up tiredly. "Okay. Let's just take a breather." She wonders what he meant by that and he passes her as he makes his way to the kitchen. "The food similar to what I shared with you earlier is right in here. Don't make too much noise. I'm a light sleeper."
She nods softly and he takes out a can. Just from a simple item, she remembers what she told him when they were staring off into the eroded city.
'I took a small interest in you.'
Rio turns away slyly from his direction, embarrassed, which made Izaya glance up at her for a second but then he continues to try and open the can. The whole 'small interest' confession has been stuck on Izaya from the moment she left the room to fall asleep for a couple of measly hours. He's been trying not to take it the wrong way. It's been hard to think of what else she could of meant.
Rio for sure knows that it was just something she wanted to say in order to let him know that she will be studying him as much as he's studying her. The plan she had thought of in the beginning will take action; if she believes her life is in danger in his hands... Then she'll need to escape somehow... It's something she still doesn't want to do... But in order to protect herself she must make tough decisions.
"Here." Izaya hands her the can. She wakes up from her sudden thoughts and says thank you. She reaches for the can of fruit and feels her finger tips brush on the back of his hand. He doesn't pull away for that minute... At least not right away. Rio takes the can with a stronger grip and she looks up at him. "Did you take a shower?" She asks.
Izaya's eyes widen from her sudden outburst. He turns away from her and says, "Yeah.."
"Ah... I see..." She takes a bite off a peach and Izaya sits himself comfortably on the sofa.
Again... He can't help but linger into her comments and how odd they seem to him. It's as if she says them just to mess with him but she's honestly just asking... At Least that's what Izaya came to a conclusion. He also can't help but think about how she smelled his scent for that moment. He shapes his hand into a fist and tries to avoid even a small eye contact with her.
"Oh..." Her voice echoed around him making him turn slightly to her. "I'm sorry." She says.
Izaya finally lifts up his head and she backs away from him slowly ready to go back to the room.
"Sorry for what?" He asks.
She stops and finishes up the peach she put into her mouth. "I'm sorry for always asking you about the four and assuming too much about you like I know you..." She pokes the peaches one by one. "It wasn't fair..."
Izaya looks down at the worn out coffee table. He hesitates on accepting her apology... But in the end he just nods and she smiles. She hopes that much brings them closer in order for her to stay in the safe environment. She really doesn't want to leave... She likes it here and she will do her best to stay alive.
"See you in the morning.." She whispers and carefully walks to the hall.
Izaya looks back as she leaves the room. She eventually disappears behind the wall. She left him thinking so much that he later became too tired to pick at her words any longer and he falls asleep to the sound of the rain.
A/N: Hey everyone! I have been extremely busy with so many things and to top it off, I had writers block everytime I tried continuing this story (that I'm so proud of?) and WDSTSL ;;;; I want to continue WDSTSL and this one with more little AUS and writing prompts hopefully once I get ideas going;; I've been drawing too much lately ;7;
