Only was fate so kind to the two of you.
A few weeks after meeting Shizuo's brother, you found yourself in the back of a van, not completely passed out with that nasty chloroform, but feeling really drowsy. You had a bag on your head, preventing you from seeing where the Hell you were and your wrists were tied rather tightly. 'Not comfortable at all. What the bloody Hell is happening?!' You asked yourself helplessly, unable to find the answers. You tried to understand what those men were talking about, but the muffled sounds were nothing more than that to you. You kept your eyes opened forcefully and prayed for Shizuo to notice you were gone.
And from a tall building, coral eyes studied the pieces of a game, moving them as he heard the van go down the street and the roar – or neigh? – of a motorcycle. He smirked wide. His strange game board mixed Chess, Soghi and Othello pieces, yet he seemed to understand it without any problems. He spun on his office chair happily, chirping up 'I love humans' here and there while he threw his arms up in the air in excitement. 'What will Shizu-chan do when he finds out his Queen is gone?' The black haired man wondered as he leaned back in the chair, sighing contently while playing with his flick blade.
Shizuo was desperately roaming about town on Celty's black motorcycle looking for you. He had this unnerving feeling that he couldn't suppress, despite all of his will. 'She's in danger, go save her!' His mind screamed for him as he grunted in frustration. A van goes by, faster than it should, and Shizuo recognizes it as the one those stupid men used to kidnap girls. He growled and told his friend to follow suit that damn van. When they were getting close enough to reach the doors, the Durahan hits the breaks abruptly and Shizuo watches in slow motion as a train gets closer and closer to the automobile. He screams out your name as he jumps from the bike and runs forward non-stop until it's too late as the train passes by, knocking off the van in which you were trapped and tied. The large vehicle capsized three or four times, the windows breaking and clattering on the ground, the sound of crumpling metal rings on the blonde's ears before the car lands still on the asphalt. Shizuo stared in horror as the scenery develops in front of his eyes; the outmost silence fills the air for a few moments, afflicting both the young male and a startled Celty. He reaches out for the now destroyed van and pulls off the door easily, bending down to look frantically through the car insides. He stiffened at the smell of blood and the lifeless bodies of those horrid men went blank to Shizuo as he pulled you out.
You felt the unsavory bag being lifted and taken off of your head and opened your semi luscious violet eyes to meet another pair. They were crying, though. You saw blonde bangs fall in front of those well known brown orbs and you stammered out a few words.
"H-hey… Wh-what's wrong, s-sweet-heart?"
He heard your weak and faint voice, looking back at you. 'How could I let this happen?! Congratulations, Shizuo, you useless piece of shit! GODDAMNIT!' You saw in his eyes he was blaming himself. You glanced at him and smiled as much as you could at him.
"Sh-Shizuo… It's n-not your fa-fault… Remember? It is n-not and will never be y-your fault. I love you. N-never forget how m-much I l-love y-you…"
He stared at you wide-eyed as more tears ran down his handsome features, your words sinking in. The same words from when you two first met. The same words you used to comfort him. The same words that made him feel accepted and loved. Those very same words that linked your hearts in unconditional love for each other. The same damn words he'll never hear coming out of your fragile, soft lips again. The same words that healed his shattered soul and the same words he'll never be able to forget. He would never forget your words. He would never forget you. You smiled sweetly and felt the energy slip off of your body slowly as your eyelids become heavy and breathing grows harder. Shizuo eyed you lovingly and caressed your cheeks, your hand touching his lightly.
"I love you more…"
You managed to smile sadly one last time at his crying figure before you came limp into his arms. 'Erin… My Erin…' He got up with you in his arms, your corporal heat decreasing as he left you in Celty's care and began walking towards Izaya's place, fists clenched tightly and jaw tensed. The Durahan gazed sorrowfully at you as she placed your head on her laps; if she had her head, it would be stained in overflowing tears. She was greatly grateful to you for helping Shizuo, as he hated himself and got easily angry, and you changed that in a matter of hours. You also were one of the few who didn't get scared when seeing she was really headless and your advices for Shinra were truly helpful, making their relationship improve a lot. Doubtlessly, Celty would miss you. She would miss the way you made Shizuo blush madly without any effort, she would miss how you understood her without her phone, she would miss your bad jokes and your sarcasm, for God's sake, she would even miss all of your teasing when talking about that strange doctor! 'Why did she have to die…?' The Black Rider was alone again. You inevitably made her world brighter and her loneliness faded to nothing with you around. But now you were gone. And Celty Sturluson knew exactly what Shizuo intended to do.
Shizuo Heiwajima. The strongest man in Ikebukuro. He hates violence, but when anger takes over, his body moves on its own will and destroys everything with his unbelievable strength. He hated how he couldn't control it. He practically hated himself, once it was said he was the definition of violence. Unbeknownst to most people, he felt alone and out of place. Well, he felt that way until the day he almost hit you with a vending machine. The man planned to simply say sorry and leave you to hate him, so imagine how astonished he was when you said it wasn't his fault and hugged him. You, Erin Akane, a small and defenseless girl, hugged the most feared man in town without a second thought. Shizuo felt as though a huge hole inside of him had just been filled with light and warmth, replacing his regrets and sorrow with happiness and laughter. He didn't feel alone anymore because you were there for him; and he was completely fine with being there for you too. You were his salvation. How much must God hate him for taking you away? Before you, he merely woke up every day and wandered around Ikebukuro with that severe expression on his face while collecting taxes with Tom. There was absolutely no reason to smile, maybe he'd even forgotten how to at the time. With you, he woke up smiling because you were there beside him, and then he'd hug your sleeping form and kiss your forehead, causing you to grimace for the disturbed rest. When you'd open your amazing violet eyes and smile at him, he felt like the luckiest man on Earth for having you as his girlfriend. He would go collect Tom's damn taxes with a goofy grin on his face and return the same way, only to attack his girlfriend in the kitchen and take her to their bedroom; and make the neighbors listen to all the action. He loved how your hips swayed when you walked and how your hair always was perfect, even though you never really did anything with it. He loved when you'd act stubbornly and wouldn't let him work multiple times in the same week, he loved how attentive you were and would always replace his sweet pudding whenever you judged necessary. He loved how you made being lazy seem sexy and he loved the way you ruffled his hair and turned it into a mess, though he would never admit it and continued to fix his blonde locks while pretending to be annoyed. He loved how you couldn't resist him, but somehow managed to win all the arguments and grinned proudly while poking his puffed cheeks. He loved every single second he spent with you and longed to be by your side when you were apart. He loved you more than anything and anyone. He was all yours while you were all his.
And every street Shizuo crossed reminded him of something he had done with you before. As his rage expanded, he stomped harder on the asphalt, reaching Izaya's apartment. 'I'll kill you this time, you damn flea.' How dare that fucking flea take away one of the very few who verily understood him? How could Izaya kill the only girl he ever loved? 'Izaya Orihara will die today.' Shizuo walked into the building's hall and easily got in front of Izaya's door. The security guards didn't even bother trying to stop him, as his bartender suit was drenched in your blood and the maniac look in his bloodshot eyes scared them away quickly. Closing his eyes, he let the rage overwhelm him and took a deep breath. Eyes red from crying snapped open and glared at the door, which was on the floor the next second as he stormed into the room, startling a black haired male that was typing calmly on his laptop. Izaya soon put up his sarcastic façade and rose from his chair, hands up as if surrendering and smirking wickedly.
"What's wrong, Shizu-chan? Your little girlfriend dumped you for letting her being kidnapped?"
"SHUT UP!"
Shizuo's fury only grew more and more when he heard Izaya's voice. Even Orihara was slightly frightened of the insane look on the blonde's eyes; he'd never gotten so mad before. What was his problem? Being the beast he is, probably those kidnappers were already dead and Erin was safe now, right? Considering that the informant didn't receive their phone call, those idiots didn't even make it to the parking lot; and that's where things would get serious, with torture and stuff. Shizuo roared in hatred and heartache as he grabbed Izaya by the collar of the black shirt.
"YOU KILLED HER! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?! ERIN IS DEAD! BECAUSE OF YOU!"
Izaya widened his eyes. 'Erin… died? But… she wasn't supposed to die! Maybe a broken leg, some bruises, but not death! I didn't want her to die! This was not my plan!' He scowled and swatted the blonde's hands away, putting his own on his forehead while glaring at the ground.
"She wasn't supposed to die! How?! My plan was perfect! Erin shouldn't have died! Just a bit hurt, nothing more!"
Shizuo could feel his blood boiling; Izaya intended to hurt his Erin. And for what reason? Only to see those human reactions he loves so much. Only to make those humans suffer and struggle in pain and confusion. Only to make humans dance on the palm of his hands to his own nefarious melody.
"You sick son of a bitch! I'LL KILL YOU IZAYA!"
He charged at the still incredulous informant with full force, only to that bastard duck and escape from the massive punch, already with that stupid flick blade in hands. As Izaya swiftly made a cut on Shizuo's arm, he ran out the door as fast as he could. His apartment had to remain untouched, what if Celty's head was discovered? Certainly he would lose it and all the plans he made to initiate a war and awake it would be in vain. 'No, I'll wake up this head someday, I need it until then!'
Both men were now in the streets and fighting; various vending machines, cars and even buildings were being quickly destroyed as they ran around. Izaya was thinking about the fact of your death being doubtlessly his blame as he forgot to check the train's schedule that day. His stomach did an uncomfortable flip. The information broker had nothing against you; he actually thought you were extremely amusing. How could you control Shizu-chan so easily? He was a monster and nothing more – in Izaya's point of view. Of course he had to do his sweet research about you, but there wasn't anything that made you special; except the fact he didn't find a single word about your mother. You seemed to be just another human for his entertainment.
And you were, until the day you said you were not the least mad at him for taking you as a defense mechanism. He arched his brow at you with suspicion, and you simply smiled, extending your hand for him to shake it as you said your name. Sure, Shizu-chan was with you and had his arm around your waist, ready to finish the black haired male's life if anything was done against his cute Erin. Oh, how well Izaya remembered about that day; probably the first woman he ever found interesting and actually his type. Whenever he tried to throw a fight versus Shizu-chan, you'd be there and hug the blonde to make him stop – surely not wishing to see them hurt each other as you knew both were inhumanly strong – and afterwards you'd always slap the informant across the face. 'Stop trying to fight with him! Why do you always do this? Izaya, please, stop this nonsense…' That's what you'd always tell him. In fact, he thought about giving up the war to run away with you once; only were you in love with him instead of that monster…
BAM!
A fridge flew centimeters away from his face and crashed on the side of a truck passing by. Izaya gulped; he hadn't had the chance to escape from the combat just yet and Shizu-chan was really pissed. If he was in that same position, most likely he'd be acting the same. While shooting a few knives at the man in a bartender suit, the informant thought about you. How you wanted to be his friend even after he used you to protect himself and how you'd always be kind towards him. He remembered the first time he insulted you to see your reaction – he was also trying to stay away from you; Izaya Orihara should not fall in love – and the only thing you did was smile sadly and walk away after apologizing for being a burden to him. Guilt hit him hard and he apologized truthfully for once in his well-calculated life, earning a bright grin and your fellowship back. Since then, he would meet you when you were buying groceries alone or even at Shizuo's apartment when the blonde was away. The first real friend he ever had, the first person he sincerely enjoyed to be with, the first crush he had and also couldn't have. The man really was all head over heels for you, even if you didn't realize so. He thought about that fatidic day he'd almost pinned you to the wall while you were getting him some soda. How could a woman seduce him so easily without even trying? The way your long black bangs framed your face perfectly, how you moved so elegantly with zero effort and the way his name rolled down your tongue. He found himself getting hot under the collar when thinking about the dangerous glint your violet orbs held every time you slapped him for trying to fight Shizu-chan. Izaya focused his brown eyes on your breech when you walked out of the living room. 'That ass…' Lifting himself from the couch, he entered the kitchen and prepared to attack you; but the thought of you hating him when he was done with you made him freeze. You peeked over your shoulder and asked if he needed anything, frowning slightly at his troubled expression; his brown eyes boring into yours for a few seconds before shaking his head and returning to the couch. He took a deep breath with his head in his hands and put back his playful façade, trying to forget those dirty thoughts. 'Man, she's gonna be the death of me one of these days…'
And that's why he planned your kidnapping, presuming you'd blame Shizuo for not protecting you. As soon as you did that, Izaya would invite you to live with him and then he would have his Queen after all. You were never supposed to die. Now hiding inside one of the playground toys in the park, he felt tears brimming his eyes and sighed quietly. 'She shouldn't have died. She should only become mine…' Shizu-chan shouted from somewhere close, but the sound diminished substantially and he left his hiding place, now crying and cooing your name over and over again. Walking back home, he mentally scoffed. 'Now I'm acting like my stupid and beloved humans… What have you done to me, Erin Akane…?' Laughing in an insane but bitter manner, he punched the wall outside of his building incessantly, the tears coming back. 'My fault. It's all my fault…'
Whilst Izaya was bleeding for you – literally, his knuckles were hurt from hitting the hard cement – and tormenting himself, Shizuo was back to the place where your cold body laid on the ground. Looking at your somehow peaceful face, he let the tears flow freely down his and held your small form, apologizing for not being there before. Celty was now going home; her hold on the handlebars tightened as her scorn for the information broker grew. She broke down in Shinra's arms when she entered their apartment, the doctor still stunned with the fact you died.
All the while, another you from another dimension woke up panting and crying hard.