Shizuo had been in a foul mood since she left. She hadn't given him any warning that she was going to the opposite side of Tokyo for who knows how long. Hell she hadn't even bothered to say good bye to him! Maybe this was all just a plan concocted by that damn flea! He growled and snapped the cigarette he had been smoking in half. He glanced over at Tom to ask where they were going next but noticed that something had caught his boss' attention.
"Isn't that?" Tom pointed at a thin figure running at high speeds on the other side of the busy road.
Both males stopped and watched as the small figure jumped into traffic and used the hoods of cars to avoid becoming part of the road. What the hell was she thinking! Let alone when did she start dressing like that!? The usually modest girl who was afraid to wear anything but her over sized hoodies was now running towards him wearing low cut ripped jeans and a black tube top. Before Shizuo could think of what to do the girl, who he had missed so much, jumped up and momentarily landed on his shoulder. There was blood flowing from her bare feet, someone was going to pay.
"I'll explain later! Go up and I'll lead them somewhere less populated if you don't mind helping me." And with that she sprung off his shoulder and into the crowded sidewalk, the cloth around her eyes snapping in the wind.
There was the sound of gun shots but it was unclear as to where they where coming from. Shizuo looked around, he should be able to climb that building and cut through the crowd. He glanced over at Tom, he wanted to help her but at the same time he still had a job to do right?
"Well what are you waiting for? We're done for today." Before the words had even left Tom's mouth he was already throwing himself up a near by apartment building. What kind of trouble did she get herself into while he was gone? And did she only seek him out because she needed help or because she wanted to? He tried to keep his temper in check as he looked for Ayame in the busy street, as soon as he spotted her he took off in that direction.
Ayame panted, she had been running for so long already. Her feet felt like they were on fire and she wasn't even sure who the hell these people were! Or how they knew she would come back today. She had been lucky and ran into Shizuo, her heart tightened as she ran. She had missed him but had no way to contact him while she was at the new cafe. She had lost her phone within a few days of leaving and since she did have much knowledge about phones she never bothered to replace it. The only one she had been able to contact before then was Shinra and she hadn't thought to get Shizuo's number from him either. She hoped desperately that he didn't hate her, she wasn't sure how people usually reacted to others just leaving for a while without telling them.
She looked behind her and cursed, they had seemed to multiply. The only reason they hadn't given up because of exhaustion yet was because they had started out on motor bikes. That's the reason she had ended up in this busy part of Ikeburkuro in the first place, she hadn't expected them to pursue her on foot. She hissed as she stepped on yet other piece of glass, someone really should clean this place up. She had forgotten her usual shoes at the new owner's home and had wore her work heels on the bus here. She had to ditch those in order to outrun the idiots chasing her.
Ayame looked up hoping like hell that Shizuo had wanted to help her. To her great relief she spotted the white sleeve of his shirt on one of the roofs next to where she was running. Or at least that's what she hopped she had seen. With one last burst of speed she took a tight turn and ran into an ally. She had finally gotten to where she wouldn't bring in any one else.
"You've ran out of places to run little girl." The guy talking was missing a tooth causing his voice to whistle a little.
"The boss told us you would be coming back soon. Said you would fetch a good price at auction." One of the other scumbags spoke up raising a gun at her, "Said it was ok to damage the goods a little. Some people are into that after all." He smiled cruel
"No matter how much you hurt me I'm not going with you! I've got a lot of shit to straiten out first and you're not going to stand in my way of that." Ayame kept her head high trying to hide the panic she was starting to feel. What if she hadn't really seen Shizuo? She had been taking classes to learn how to fight but there was no way she could take on this many people at once!
Someone screamed form the back of the now crowded ally. "What they hell is going on!" The man with the gun yelled. He seemed to be the ring leader of the group that had came after her.
"Some guy dressed as a bartender. We'll take care of him you get the girl!" One of the lackeys called back as some one else yelled, "Is this guy even human!?"
While the leader was distracted Ayame had jumped up and off the wall to kick the guy in the head, to her misfortune he was quick and she was tired. He caught her by the leg and threw her into the dumpster. She was dazed but nothing was broken.
"What kind of scum attacks women!" Shizuo threw the last remaining minion at the leader.
The leader dodged and aimed his gun at Shizuo who glared at the idiot. With a quick move he dodged the shot and broke the mans arm. Without skipping a beat he picked up the guy and threw him out of the ally and turned his attention to Ayame who was sitting on the ground staring up at him. There were tears in her eyes and Shizuo instantly felt the desire to murder every man lying around him, find their leader and kill him too. The only thing that stopped him was her words.
"I've missed you!" Ayame used the last of her strength to jump up from where she was sitting and throw herself at Shizuo.
Shizuo fought to keep his anger. He was confused about what was going on with, well, everything. Kishitani had said she was safe and was working at a new branch of the maid cafe. Then again he said he hadn't heard form her since the first day she had arrived and that had been a few months ago.
"I'm sorry I left without saying anything. I had forgotten that I was supposed to leave so when I got to work that day I was put on a bus to the new location. I realized when I was there that I had never gotten a way to contact you so I told Shinra where I was so he wouldn't worry and then I lost my phone." There was a lot more she said but she had started crying to the point where it was hard to understand. He wasn't sure why she was crying in the first place to begin with.
"We should go somewhere else?" He wasn't sure where but eventually the alley full of unconscious men would attract attention. He looked down as Ayame released him and slowly sank down to the ground, "are you ok?"
She gave a small nod, "just tired. I've been running since I got back a noon." That had been six hours ago. The men had ambushed her the minute she got off the bus.
Shizuo growled a little, he wished she had found him sooner. Or that ass holes like that wouldn't even exist in the first place.
Ayame was a little shocked when she felt Shizuo pick her up, though she rationalized that it was because they needed to move. She tucked her head under his chin and he carried her bridal style out of the alley. It was then that she realized that she had almost gotten to Shizuo's apartment, she really hoped he wasn't too angry with her. She was so tired she could fall asleep where she was, but there was a tension in the silence that kept her awake. Ayame wanted to know if the man that held her hated her but she couldn't bring herself to speak the words.
Once they arrived inside the apartment Ayame was confused when she was carried to the bathroom and sat on the sink. The bathroom wasn't particularly spacious and wasn't made for two people to move around in easily. Ayame couldn't look Shizuo in the eyes as he wet-ted a rag and fished out a pair of tweezers from one of the drawers. Just when she had gotten the courage to speak she swore as a piece of glass was yanked from her foot.
"Sorry there's a few more of them left. Your skin started growing over the shards." Shizuo swallowed his frustration. He should have taken her to Shinra, he would have been able to get this done in a less painful manner.
"It's my fault. I had forgotten to change shoes when I left the cafe and I couldn't run as fast in heels..." She hissed as another shard was pulled free.
"It's the bastards that were chasing that's to blame not you."
"I guess that's true. Hey Shizuo?" It had been the first time she had used his actual name.
"Hmmmm?"
"Do you..." She trailed off, maybe she wasn't brave enough to know so instead she changed the subject before it could become one, "Thank you for helping me before, and again now."
Shizuo was silent for a while as he washed off the bottom of her foot. Usually he wasn't someone who pried but he couldn't help but ask. "Do I what?" He had found one last raised spot that indicated a shard was hiding under her skin.
Ayame remind silent causing Shizuo's temper to raise. What was the point of bringing something up if you didn't want to talk about it! Then another thought crossed his mind. "Why do you have that flea's number?"
"His number? OH! Right!" She smiled a little bit, "So do remember the first time you came into my work? You told me that it was dangerous to give my number out to random peoples?"
Shizuo sat back on his heel with his hand on his chin and thought for a moment, "Yea I remember."
"Well. It wasn't my number that I would give males, as long as I gave them a number it shut them up. That number happened to be Izaya's." She paused at Shizuo's growl. "I gave them his because it seems like males like to send pictures of their anatomy to females they wished to mate with. Since I didn't like getting theses images I thought it would be amusing to give them Izaya's since I don't like him either. The awakusu keep me informed on his contact information in exchange that I help them with endurance training of their men. They saw me running one day and decided that I could help them." Ayame had started rambling at the end.
Shizuo hadn't expected that answer, nor had he expected this whole situation to end with him laughing on the bathroom floor. He stopped laughing for a moment as he noticed Ayame was staring at him with a faint blush on her cheeks. "Are you feeling ok?"
"Y-yea. I like your laugh is all."She looked at her feet as she spoke. Guiren, the manager of the new store, had told her that whenever she noticed something about Shizuo she liked she should tell him.
Shizuo blinked in surprise but couldn't help but smile, but something was still weighing on his mind. "What were you going to ask me about earlier?"
"Well...I was...I'm afraid that..."She took a deep breath unused to the whirl wind of emotions inside her. She hadn't been this concerned with anything before she had left. Those two had changed her more than she had thought. "I thought that you might hate me for leaving for a while and not being able to let you know that I had gone." Her heart was pounding as she spoke, stupid thing.
"You're the one person I don't think I could hate." Shizuo hadn't had a chance to think about what he said the words just came out. He wasn't used to this kind of thing happening or dealing with these kinds of emotions.
Ayame slid off the sink, which placed her on Shizuo's lap, and found herself kissing him. Shizuo was caught but surprise but pulled her close responding to the kiss. They were both out of breath when the finally pulled apart.
"If you do things like that I won't be able to control myself." Shizuo growled into Ayame's ear.
Ayame tucked her head into the side of Shizuo's neck and lightly ran the tip of her tongue up the side of his neck until she came to his ear. "What if that's exactly what I want?" she tangled her hands in his hair and kissed him once again. With that what little control Shizuo was holding on to left him.
Ayame opened her eyes as she heard the sound of someone knocking at the door. She wiggled out from under Shizuo's arm, causing him to growl slightly, and went to leave the room.
"Clothes..." Shizuo's tired voice caught her attention. She looked back at him as he sat up and rubbed his face.
The knock on the door reminded her that she was doing something other than stare at the man she had just had had sex with. Her clothes were out of the question as he had literally tore them off of her and she didn't think there was time to find clothes in the room she had stayed in before she left. She couldn't help but wonder if she there was still even clothes in there.
She picked up the shirt Shizuo had been wearing before and pulled it over her shoulders. Most of the buttons were still attached and she made quick work of them. Thankfully the shirt was big enough on her that it would hide the face that she wasn't wearing any panties, hopefully at least. Ayame glanced back once more and smiled at the grump faced blonde who was now smoking a cigarette. Without saying much she walked down the hall and opened the door just as their visitor rose their hand once more to knock on the door.
So you are here! Shinra was concerned when a back pack was delivered to his apartment with your stuff in… Celty stopped tying and took in the sight before her. Why was she wearing Shizuo's shirt? There were strange marks on her neck as well. She was going to ask if something happened when Shizuo walked into the room wearing just his pants. He had dark marks on his neck and chest that look similar to Ayame's.
Did you? Celty held out the phone unclear as to who she was speaking with, the smoke from her neck turned darker. She wasn't sure if she should be angry or happy or what she should feel for that matter.
Celty watched as Ayame's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink and she got a mischievous grin on her face. The warmth in Shizuo's eyes and he looked at Ayame told Celty all she needed, or wanted for that matter, to know.
Never mind don't tell me! She quickly threw up her phone, Also there's been something ringing off and on inside of this bag. I thought you lost your phone.
Celty held out the back pack and met Ayame's confused look as she opened the bag. "I lost it when I first got there...unless…" She dug through the bag until she felt something that resembled a phone and pulled it out. Her eyes twitched as she held the pink phone at arms length the word Princess was bedazzled in purple on the top.
At the moment a musical chiming came from the disgusting device Ayame held in her hand. She flipped open the phone, the words Queen appeared on the screen above a number she wasn't familiar with. The same was all she needed though so she answered the phone.
"What the hell is this thing." She leaned on the kitchen counter.
"A phone silly! What took you so long to answer princess? We were starting to get worried!" A feminine, but distinctly male, voice sounded over the speaker that was much too loud.
"I ran into a little trouble when I got here." She paused for a second and then smiled, "and then ran into Shizuo."
"Ooooh! Is he there?!"
"Yea." Ayame glanced over at Shizuo with a slightly concerned look on her face.
"Let me talk to him! Come on princess!"
Ayame sighed and held out the phone to Shizuo, who looked at it with confusion. "Go on he wants to talk to you and he's going to be annoying until he does."
"Hello?" The blonde was curious about this mystery male who apparently wanted to talk to him.
"So you're the famous Shizuo that Ayame never stopped talking about! Listing darling I have some information that I think you would love to hear."
"What's that?" Shizuo wasn't sure what to think of the voice on the other line.
"The little Princess ran into some trouble while she was here and one of our bouncers tracked down their head quarters. It seems that there is an interesting sale going on," There was a slight pause, "In about an hour just 10 minutes outside Ikeburkuro. Their boss is supposed to be there."
"Is that so? Where exactly is this?"
Ayame Shizuo's facial expressions very carefully unsure as to what to think about those 2 conversing. After a few minutes Shizuo closed the phone and handed it back to Ayame with a smile.
"I'll be back," he gave her a quick kiss. "Princess." with a smirk he ran out the door way passed a confused Celty.
"Don't you dare start calling me that too!" Ayame hoping she wouldn't be cursed with that name forever.
The girl who was lost and didn't care found herself caring much more than she thought was even possible. Her life was changed the moment she met the who dressed as a bartender but was not. The man, who thought the only thing he was good at was destroying things, found himself smiling at the thought that he was finally creating something. Two very different paths have now merged into one leading off into the same direction never to be separat again.