New chapter! Le gasp~ AND WITHIN A WEEK! BUT WHY?

Answer: It is my birthday today 8DD Yay! Although funny enough, I only barely got out of my birthday being yesterday. Yeah, I was born February 24, 1994...

ONE MINUTE AFTER MIDNIGHT.

XD Fun fact~!

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Disclaimer: I do not own D8

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Why?

Why why why why why?

Why why why why why why why why why?

The simple three-letter word failed to cease circulating in his mind.

"Last chance, Orihara-san," the velvety voice bitterly relayed as Izaya felt a cool shove at his abdomen. He didn't have to look down, he knew what it was. The raven hardened his sanguine eyes. This was getting ridiculous.

"For the last time, I don't know what you're talking about!" he snapped, feeling his initial shock wearing away. His confusion and slight ire at being stopped was quickly replacing it. Mauve orbs were quick to narrow, clearly displeased with the answer.

"Bullshit!" he shoved the gun in further. Izaya wasn't able to tell what kind it was in the particular gloominess of their surroundings, but he knew for sure, 'if that thing went off..' He faintly shivered, not wanting to think about it. "I'm telling you the truth, and what the hell is with this thing? Stop pointing it at me!" he slapped at the other's hand in irritation, deterring the weapon from it's original firm place against his side.

Maxwell Sinclair was momentarily shocked, watching as his wrist was pushed sideways from the soft impact. 'This kid, just shrugging off being held at gunpoint like this,' he shook his head a bit in silent disbelief before returning it to its prior position. "This is no joke, stop messing around-"

"You stop messing around!" Izaya suddenly interrupted, taking him aback once more, "What are you doing, grabbing classmates from the street and pointing guns at them, especially since you just met them today too! Rude, if you ask me!"

It quickly went out of control.

"What do you mean rude? You're the one in relation to that guy!"

Izaya looked perfectly bewildered, seemingly forgetting that this student had just threatened him with death. "What guy!"

"T-that guy, Atsushi! You know about him, don't you?"

Izaya briefly choked.

"That stalker guy! Like hell I want to know anything about him!" Maxwell stared. "S-stalker?" he managed to choke, a little confused at the abrupt accusation and how quickly the raven was talking. "Yes, stalker, that crazy freaken kid, he won't leave me alone! It's so creepy! So Shinra got his file just to be safe-"

"Shinra?"

"and then I got mad at Shinra for that boyfriend thing, I mean, really would giving me my own harem really work? Would it now?"

"I-I wouldn't know-"

"And then we found out he was French, and from Cor- Corsi-uh.."

"Corsica?"

"Yes that! Wait, how do you know that?"

The other was quick to break into a cold sweat upon realizing he let info slip out like that, "U-uh-" he quickly began stuttering as Izaya's eyes narrowed, the situation taking a complete 180-degree turn. "Wait, what are you anyway? And that Unione Corse, what the hell is that? Who ARE YOU-"

"Iza-nii! Where are you? Iza-nii!"

Both stilled at the abrupt and faint cries of a little girl. Wine-red eyes widened in surprise. "Is that-" he started, only to yelp as he was suddenly shoved from the alleyway and tripped back into the street just a few feet from the person who called for him. It didn't take long for little limbs to wrap in a deathhold around him.

"Where?.. worried," Kururi quietly whimpered, just about latching onto her older brother as Mairu began to openly wail. "Stupid Iza-nii!" she cried as she started kicking him, "you're so late, making me and Kuru-nee worry like that!" she continued to home her shiny dress shoes to the oldest Orihara's shin, not ceasing until he lifted her onto his arms. Even then, she continued kicking the air as he continued the interrupted trip home.

"That hurts, stop it!" he briefly reprimanded, patting her back for a few moments before doing the same to the short locks of his other twin sister, "I'm sorry ok? It's just that- WAIT A SECOND." Izaya quickly deposited Mairu back on the ground, released Kururi's iron-grip from his uniform, and quickly dashed to look into the alley he had been in just a few moments prior.

Nothing.

It was quite literally vacant, void of the other boy that had been threatening him just minutes ago. And it was also a pretty lengthy strip with little cover, it would take quite some time to be able to move to an unseen location; 'But to do that in just a minute or so, and so noiselessly' Izaya felt a shiver run up his spine at the thought, briefly disturbed by the fact until several tugs at the hem of his shirt brought him from his thoughts. Mairu has ceased her waterworks, puffing her cheeks. "Something wrong, Iza-nii?" she questioned, Kururi to her right echoing her sister with a quiet "Wrong?"

"I-It's nothing. Come on, lets go home already."

The twins were quick to exchange glances. They might just be children, but even they knew something was wrong. Nevertheless, they decided not to probe, obvious in Mairu's smile as she demanded some curry for dinner that night, the older twin reciprocating with a quiet "With meat."

xxx

Maxwell could barely stop his heart's erratic beating.

He slipped.

He let information out.

And he used a loaded weapon on him.

He was seriously going to pull the trigger. He really was; it was what he had been trained to do. But then the control he had on the situation went to the other so easily, and he'd shown panic. "I was so rash," he muttered to himself, slamming his head gently on the brick wall he rested his back against. He managed to get a good distance from the other, but the distance was not enough for him to miss the two little girls who ran towards Izaya, tears in their eyes and arms outstretched.

He repeated the action again, this time harder, enough to send a dull ache through his head.

His guilt couldn't be put into words.

._. 36. They made mistakes._.

"You what?" Emerald eyes hardened exceptionally.

"I- uh, I made a mistake, I'm sorry," Violet eyes fell down to the floor in shame.

"I can see that, but my question is why?"

"Alejandro, you're being so tough on him~" a second voice cheerfully interjected, only to earn a rather harsh glare in return.

"Don't call me that."

"It's my fault, Vincenzo," the younger quietly piqued, "Ignazio has every right to be angry-"

"Damn right I do," the first, Ignazio, cut him off, "you don't normally fail. What happened here? I thought I told you to do what is possible to get what you needed to eliminate the target. Do you have a proper excuse, Maxwell?"

"Well-" Maxwell began hesitantly, stopping half-way. Under normal circumstances, he did complete the job without question. He's been doing it actively for nearly five years now, and like his Fratello said, he never failed. To fail simply meant that they didn't do their job properly of instilling every skill they knew into him mind, and it was something the sixteen year-old couldn't bear to allow. He wasn't going to let others look down on the two for a stupid mistake on his part.

"Well-" he started once more, idly removing the magazine of his M191, the same one he had used to threaten Izaya with earlier. He began to toy with the .45 ACP cartridge nervously, "he didn't know anything useful. He was just a bystander really, but-"

"But?"

"I-I uh, I accidentally mentioned the Unione Corse, because I was so sure-"

"Did you now?"

"A-and the implication that Noa was a target too-"

"Ahahaha!" Vincenzo easily burst out laughing as his partner frowned at the news.

Ignazio was always the Fratello Maxwell disliked upsetting. Vincenzo Fera was always more laid back, and his appearance spoke volumes of it. With his coffee-like brilliant brown eyes and cinnamon-colored hair, his constant smile easily decieved many and made his job much easier than it otherwise would be. He was a complete contrast to Ignazio, and sometimes, Maxwell wondered why they worked so well together.

It wasn't as if the other was cold to him, because he really wasn't. Ignazio Alejandro Verardi kept a constant and chilling mask, although on the job, he was just as charming as Vincenzo is on a daily basis. He was good at work too, not at all falling short to the other male with his own set of lush eyes and extraordinarily light amber locks. Ignazio typically kept a cool facade around other associates, and this showed through the disappointed sigh that escaped his lips, his stern face never changing. "Well," he started, "you do realize that your options in dealing with this boy are limited, correct?" Maxwell found himself biting his lip. He knew what this meant.

"Go apologize."

Amethyst eyes widened.

What?

"H-huh?" he stuttered unintelligently as his Fratello calmly repeated. "Go apologize," he clarified, "unless you want to kill him-"

"I don't."

"Then, what are you waiting for?"

._. 37. They had to fix them._.

It was really the bluntest way he could put it.

"You look like shit," Shizuo easily criticized during the first moments of Lunch Break, staring straight at Izaya who was currently burning holes into the blackboard with tired eyes. Shinra leaned over, poking childishly at his best friend's crown of black hair. "No kidding!" he chirped, continuing the gesture a few more times, "is something wrong Izaya?" The younger of the three jumped a bit at the question, nearly spilling what had happened just the day prior, but stopped himself just as he began the first syllable.

"N-nothing," he gritted his teeth as Kadota cocked a single brow, clearly suspicious. "Y'sure?" he questioned, as the other gave a slightly strained smile and wave of his hand. "Of course!" he piqued, "no big deal!" Of course, it is a big deal, but after the whole harem thing with Atsushi went down, he became much more hesitant as to what information he diverged them with. 'This isn't as huge,' he nodded slightly to himself, 'it isn't something I have to tell them, I can handle it, I'm no maiden in distress!'

"I'm good! Now lets go, I'm hungry, huuungry!" he began to whine, picking up his packed lunch and making a dash for the classroom exit. Shinra began to laugh, "You're always hungry by Lunch Time!" Shizuo scoffed from just behind him. "No, he's always starving during Literature class, is what he is." Kyohei stared at the blond. "How do you know that?" he questioned, to which the older shrugged a bit, not the least bit bothered by the inquiry. "I can hear him from my seat, Shinra might not, since he's always talking about Celty, but still, it's pretty loud."

"I-I see.."

As the group of four made their way out towards the rooftops isolated just for them, they didn't notice a student slip from the corridor, feeling for a cellphone in his pocket.

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It took only two rings for him to pick up.

"Hello hello~? Nutella, mio amore~!"

"D-don't call me that!" Maxwell flushed a brilliant red at the mention of his childhood mock codename, "V-Vincenzo-"

"Yes~?"

Gosh, this man was too cheery for his own good.

"D-do," he hesitated with a sigh, "do I really have to?"

"Yes~!"

...

Well that was quick.

"Ugh, b-but-" he was cut off by his second Fratello's consistently upbeat voice. "Remember what Alejandro said~" he reminded, "either apologize to the boy, or off with his head, off with his head~!" The sixteen year-old frowned. "You're not watching Alice in Wonderland again, are you?"

"What am I supposed to do?" the other wailed, coming off more as static noise than an actual voice, "Alejandro is at therapy again~!" he could just about hear the pout in the man's tone.

"... Still?"

"Yes~! Now do what Ale told you, to now~~ bye bye!"

The other line clicked, a sign that he had been hung up on. Maxwell found himself grimacing, his intent to have Vincenzo change Ignazio's mind about the situation just about going up in ashes. The cellphone emitted a resounding beep, confirming that the connection was gone, and his instructions were absolute.

He didn't want to do this.

But if he didn't-

._. 38. There was no other option._.

Izaya switched from drilling holes into the blackboard to trying to set the stapled packet before him into fiery ruins. "Damn it!" Shizuo slammed his textbook on his desk.

"Just what the fuck is with you?" he demanded, already tired of the younger male's odd behavior that day. Class was finally over, having finished with the last subject on their schedule before they were free to leave for home. Most students around them were already gone, leaving the class room mostly vacant. Even Shinra and Kadota had already left, with the doctor-to-be rambling on something about his beloved and the other something he didn't quite catch, much to his shame. Izaya pouted, puffing his cheeks for a few moments before pointing at the offending pile. "I forgot to turn in the Calculus packet," he simply explained, his words just about dripping with malice at mentioning the subject. The blond rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Then go turn it in," he replied, earning a huff from the other boy. "But I don't want to go all the way to the Teacher's Offices!" he whinned, bottom lip still stubbornly jutting out. Shizuo threw his school bag over his shoulder, "then don't get any credit for it, dumbass. I'm out, don't take so long," he carelessly lifted a hand in good-bye, as Izaya stuck his tongue at his retreating form, exiting the classroom.

The raven huffed once more, turning crimson eyes back to the math homework laying innocently on his desk. "Stupid Shizu-chan," he muttered, throwing a few books he would need for studying that night into his schoolbag, zipping it shut once he was done, "just because he's good at this stuff, he gets all high and mighty about it when he really sucks at English anyway. And Government, for that matter," he found himself cracking a smile despite his foul mood. Picking up his late work, he made a beeline for the Teacher's office, intent on turning the package in.

The office was luckily on his floor, so Izaya didn't have to worry about going down any stairs. What he didn't like, however, was that it was located all the way around on the other side of the building, so as he made his way to the instructor offices, he was passing a lot of students who were leaving. Sure, people greatly interested him, but he hated mindless crowds that paid no attention to their surroundings, and even more when he was already in a fit from having a tardy assignment in his hands. Annoyed, he shoved through the last bit of the mass, wanting to get it over with and go home. He reached the doors to the offices, and just as he extended his hand to the door, it slid open from the other side, startling him slightly at the abrupt action.

He saw a male Raijin uniform on the other side.

He quickly noticed how tall the student was, almost like Shizuo or Kadota, really.

Izaya blinked.

Followed by his dark hair...

And brilliant violet eyes.

He felt his eyes widen in shock, his face contorting in realization.

Maxwell Sinclair's wasn't any different.

._. 39 They had a chance._.

Like any sane person, Izaya took several large steps backwards.

"W-wait!"

"What for? So you can shoot me?" he was surprised he shot out with a retaliation so quickly. The other boy's face twisted in guilt. "No! I- uh, I just wanted to apologize. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that-"

"Damn right you shouldn't have!"

"I know that, but- will you stop stepping backwards and let me explain!"

"Hardly!"

"It was a misunderstanding, okay? I really didn't mean to! It's just that I overheard you talking about Noa, and I assumed you knew something on him-"

"And what are you? An assassin or something?" Izaya joked, but upon seeing Maxwell's eyes drift to the floor, he paled. "Oh crap, you are?"

"I-it was just info gathering, I swear!" he reasoned, "I'm not supposed to do anything to him, but-" he trailed off. He really wasn't supposed to make a move on Atsushi, he was being truthful on that, but-

He didn't want to say he wasn't going to act yet.

Izaya was perfectly flabbergasted. "How am I supposed to trust your word? I mean, you pointed a gun at me yesterday-!"

"It was a M191-"

"DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW THAT."

"I-I'm sorry, okay?" his sudden and quiet voice stilled the other's stubborness for a second, "I can't really prove that you should trust what I am saying, but it's just oe of those things that doesn't have explaination. I won't do it again, that I can promise." Izaya was silent for a few moments.

"Do you promise that?"

"Absolutely."

"Would you commit seppuku if you break that?"

"...Commit what?"

"Ritual suicide."

"H-huh? U-uh," he hesitated at the abrupt addition, "y-yes."

"You sure about that?"

"Absolutely."

"Seriously?.."

"Of course," Lilac eyes regained their composure, and silence reigned their surroundings.

"Then I guess I forgive you," the raven finally spoke. Maxwell immediately felt a weight leave his chest. "For real?"

"Yes, for real, just as long as you never point one of those Ms at me again."

"A M191?"

Izaya couldn't help but laugh at that, "Yes, one of those."

That sound. Maxwell Sinclair was sure, that if the other boy forgave him for his actions, the guilt eating at him and nervousness making home in his chest would leave. They did, but at the sight of that smile and the sound of that laugh, a new sensation gripped his being. He was briefly confused, wondering exactly what was wrong...

Because his heart refused to stop beating so erratically.

._. 40. They found redemption._.

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This one was loooonng~

The hunger thing, now THAT is for real, I based it on something. To my shame, M.R. and I are starving by 9:30 AM every schoolday :'D Class starts at 8 AM for me, people. And we don't even eat at school anymore! *has two home periods* Even today, I could hear my stomach during AP Government :'DD Even when we would eat school lunch, we got hungry an hour later still! And I enjoyed writing a little friction between Shizuo and Izaya too~~

8D So I lied, I'll tell everyone what RavenBlackRoses' idea was next chapter~! *didn't want to rush* Will include an extra too~ but for now~ just this one! 8D *gets pelted*

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Hey! It's my birthday today! GIVE ME REVIEWS AS B-DAY PRESENTS! XDD

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I should probably put a warning that there are several OCs, right?...