You know, I'm starting to feel really bad for the shop owner of Aidokusho. He just always seems to be stuck in a terrible place. I mean, first Otakus ruining his manga section, then Mikado with Shizuo and now… well… this chapter.

I don't own.

Warning: Actual ShizuoxMikado (finally!), foul language, and silliness on Shinra's behalf.

Recap: Mikado is finally out of the hospital, but Izaya's latest plan just might send him back.

Mikado yawned and rubbed his eyes. A glance at the clock informed him that it was 3:45 AM. Who's calling now?

The party had ended without too big mess, especially considering that they had Izaya and Shizuo in one room together. Thankfully, Izaya had ran off as soon as he finished eating, saying something about a meeting. And soon after, the four left, at the insistence of the Otakus, who winked at Mikado and glared at Shizuo. And by the time Shizuo left, it was past midnight and Mikado still had dirty dishes. And just when he had about half an hour of sleep, what should happen? Someone called him.

Feeling a little annoyed, but too polite to show it, he picked up the phone and asked, "Hello?"

"Ah, Mikado-kun! I was beginning to get a little worried!"

The blue-eyed teen frowned, trying to place the voice. Where had he heard that voice before? It wasn't any time recent, he knew. But as familiar as it was, he just couldn't place it. Did he even hear the voice before?

"Hello? Mikado-kun? You still there?"

"Ah. Ye-yes. I'm here. It's just… really late and-"

"That's right! Time zones! I completely forgot about that!" Something about the tone of the man's voice told Mikado that that wasn't the case at all. But the man continued on, as if Mikado's sleepiness didn't matter to him at all. "But I thought that we put off calling you long enough!"

It was then that Mikado realized who he was talking to. "Shinra-san?"

"Don't interrupt me yet, Mikado-kun. You see, we were planning to call you as soon as we got to Ireland," Shinra continued with enthusiasm that threatened to give Mikado a headache. "But then there was a tsunami-"

Tsunami? Didn't those only occur on sea? Did they go on a boat, instead of a plane? That's a little odd, but Shinra-san is pretty odd.

"-and would you believe it? We got shipwrecked! And of course, of all the islands to be shipwrecked on, we got abandoned on the one island where there was no connection to the outside world. At all!"

Of course. It's only natural for that to happen. Mikado blinked. He hadn't realized he could be so sarcastic. It must've been the lack of sleep.

"So with nothing else to do, all the people worked together in order to survive. First, we made a SOS sign. You know those giant SOS signs in movies? Yeah. That. Then we searched through the island to find anything to eat, in case we got stuck there for a long time. Luckily, the plants weren't poisonous and we had plenty of coconuts. We also found this giant storage filled with imperishable food and goodies, so we were pretty lucky. And then…. Then!"

Mikado rubbed his eyes, wishing Shinra would just hurry up.

"Celty wore a bikini!"

There was a soft "thud" sound in the background and Mikado heard Shinra apologize profoundly to someone. Even without seeing it, he could imagine Celty standing over the man with her arms crossed in front of her chest. He chuckled softly.

"So we waited a while. And other stuff happened, but because Celty's shy, I don't think I'm allowed to tell you about them. After waiting for half a year, a ship finally came to our rescue. But to our dismay, it was a pirate ship!"

Is he writing a story or something?

"So my sweet, heroic Celty went out and fought off the pirates with her trusty horse!"

… Horse?

"And so, here we are! … By the way, Celty wants to know if Ikebukuro is treating you well."

Mikado blinked. Then a warm smile graced his lips. "It is absolutely wonderful."

"That's a relief. You actually sound like you mean it." And Shinra actually sounded serious. "And seeing that you're still at the flat, Shizuo didn't send you to the hospital, nor did you have a run in with the Yellow Scarves! Lucky you."

The blue-eyed teen wisely kept the truth to himself. He had a tingling that it just might be a bad idea to tell Shinra. "So when would you be back?"

"Ah? Well, we have to finish up some press coverage and all that. And we never got to see Ireland." Without seeing the man himself, Mikado could hear the pout in his voice. "But Celty says that she had a pretty good vacation. And I'm sure work's piled up. So, as unfortunate as it sounds, we'll probably be back in about a week or so."

A week…? Mikado glanced around the room. A thick layer of dust had gathered everywhere, much to his shame, and cobwebs could be spotted in nearly every corner. Despite his attempts to clean everything, he really had only managed to get the dining room and the kitchen clean. Well, I'm sure I can clean everything within a week.

"I can't wait to see you guys then."

"Neither can we! And I can't wait to see your face when you see the gifts we're bringing back!"

Why do I get the feeling that it's a coconut?

For the life of him, Masaomi couldn't sleep. He steadily paced and worn down the small yellow carpet that an underling had gotten him for his birthday. To say that his feet were throbbing with pain was an understatement. He wouldn't be surprised if he looked down now and see blisters already forming. He sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes.

Kill Heiwajima Shizuo…

Just why was it that practically everyone around him wanted the ex-bartender dead? Sure, he was rather hot-headed and liked to beat the crap out of Yellow Scarves members, but didn't everyone? Other than the fact that the Yellow Scarves would be more prominent if Shizuo died, there really wasn't any other reason to get rid of him. Besides, even if they got rid of him, there was always the Black Rider. And the last thing Masaomi wanted was for Izaya to give him another gun and tell him to kill her.

And why did that blasted informant want Shizuo dead now? They knew each other since high school years, or so Seiji had mentioned that one time (how he knew this information, Masaomi didn't ask), and Izaya never got rid of the ex-bartender. So why now? What changed? And worst of all, why him?

There were thousands of others, Masaomi was sure, who would jump at the chance to do Izaya's bidding. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if the informant wanted to hire an assassin and anonymously get rid of Shizuo. After all, nothing else screamed, "Orihara Izaya was here" than a mysterious death with no evidence to point back at Izaya. Which brought back Masaomi's original point. Why him?

Obviously it was some sort of a plot. Izaya never did anything without a grand goal in mind. The only problem was that Masaomi just wasn't sure what the grand plan was. Perhaps Izaya wanted to remind Masaomi who the boss was? If so, weren't there thousands of other methods of doing that? This just made no sense! Of course, there was that reason.

Izaya didn't need Masaomi anymore.

Masaomi sighed dramatically and dropped himself onto the bed. And killing Shizuo brings up another problem. How am I going to get back at Izaya without Shizuo? He covered his eyes with his arm. "Damn it all."

It was 9:30 AM and Heiwajima Shizuo was standing in front of the apartment door, a bento in one hand. He tugged nervously at his collar, debating whether or not if now would be too early to ring the doorbell. He had come earlier than last time in hopes that he could take the kid to the bookstore before his work started. But now that he was actually here, in front of the door, he just wasn't sure.

What if he was planning to spend the day with Izaya? He pushed the thought away. Whatever Izaya is to the kid, he's still my charge!

He knocked. After three minutes of knocking, the door finally clicked open and a drowsy Mikado stood in the doorway. He yawned a little and rubbed his eyes. And - My god, those plain blue pajamas make him look adorable.

"Hello Heiwajima-san," he said softly. "Would you like to come in?"

"Actually, I have to go to work," he said quickly. "But I thought you might want to go to the bookshop before I left."

Blue-eyes lit up at that, and a grateful smile appeared on the boy's face. Shizuo fought against a blush. He was not going to go red. Especially not because of a simple smile.

"Thank you!"

Oh screw it.

The owner of Aidokusho stared at the two with an unreadable expression on his face. On one hand, he was terrified that the Heiwajima Shizuo was standing right before him… glaring. On the other hand, the young boy from six months ago was giving him a sheepish smile. He hid a groan and looked at the two of them again. I had six months of peace. And now this?

"And that's the situation," Mikado explained, completely oblivious to the glares Shizuo was sending the shop owner. "So I hope you don't mind me starting over?"

You have Heiwajima Shizuo backing you. You have the Otakus not too far behind him. Do you really think I can refuse and get away alive?

The shop owner let out a nervous chuckle. "Hehe, of course not! Come right through!"

The pile of mangas in the corner had grown, Mikado noticed with a frown. But otherwise, the store was kept in the pristine state it usually was. The mess that Shizuo had left last time was nowhere to be seen. Then again, that was six months ago.

Shizuo gently tapped him on the shoulder. "I have to get to work," he told the teen as he handed the bento over. "But I want you to call me whenever you can. And don't forget to eat. I'll come to pick you up at… 7, did you say?"

Mikado nodded.

"Alright. See you then."

There was one more thing he wished he could've said, but he held his tongue. Currently, the young teen looked happy to be among books, and the ex-bartender really didn't want to ruin that. If only he could convince his gut to stop wrenching…

Izaya hummed a happy tune to himself as he walked down the streets of Ikebukuro. It was almost lunch time and he had a wonderful lunch date planned in his mind to share with his brat. If memory served, which it always did, a turn to the left here should take him to-

Ah. There it was. Aidokusho. The significantly small bookshop that barely had customers, if any. The same one that the Otakus liked to visit, for the shop owner was spineless and allowed them discounts. Also the same one that Mikado worked at. The informant grinned happily to himself. Without a second thought of what others might think, he opened the door and cheerfully shouted in.

"Mikado-kuuuun!" he waved over to the brat, who was trying to reorganize the manga section. "Have lunch with me!"

The informant ignored all others in the store. They could freeze like little bunnies and stare and gape at him all they wanted. There was only one target that Izaya wanted today and that target would soon be dead if the brat cooperated. Izaya grinned and motioned for Mikado to come close.

"I've already had my lunch break, Izaya-san," Mikado said apologetically. "I didn't know anyone was coming."

At this, Izaya glanced at the shop owner and grinned. "Is that so?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of the shop owner. And just as predicted, the owner cracked under pressure.

"It's fine with me! It's completely fine!" he shouted from his safe spot from behind the biographies. Hah! Like that'll save him from me!

With a bright grin adorning his face, the informant turned back to Mikado. "Let's go!"

The brat looked uncertain, but he nodded slowly. "Alright," he said. "Where are we going?"

Like hell I'll ruin the surprise! Izaya turned around, leading the kid away. "You'll see," he said, unable to stop grinning. "You'll see."

The trap was set and Masaomi was feeling like crap. Two Yellow Scarves members stood visibly in front of a six-story building. They were the bait. Heiwajima Shizuo would stop and start to fight them because the two would challenge him (not that that required a brain). What the ex-bartender didn't know, however, was the fifteen or so members waiting with lethal weapons such as chains, crowbars and big, wooden clubs. They were, obviously, hidden throughout the street and down the alley, all waiting for the sign of violence. And there was Masaomi himself, who was standing across the street from the two baits, with a newspaper in between his hands. He was wearing a white beanie, but as long as he wore the yellow bandana, he was easy to identify as a member of Yellow Scarves.

The minute the streets became full with Yellow Scarves members, the normal citizens would run the other direction. This would give Masaomi the minutes that he needed for murder. And this would make sure that his identity as the shooter diminished. Of course, the crowd of the Yellow Scarves served one other purpose. They would hold Heiwajima still. It wasn't as if Masaomi shot people often for fun, and this would make certain that he wouldn't miss.

Gods, I sound like a pro.

He gritted his teeth. If only he knew where Izaya would be hiding, he would rather shoot the informant. Oh how that'd make life so much easier! He snorted. Right. Like murder is ever easy.

Besides, there was one flaw to Izaya's oh-so-glorious plan. It relied on the fact that Heiwajima Shizuo would walk this way. And what if the ex-bartender decided to take a different route? Then the plan fell apart before it could ever begin. However, when Masaomi had brought up this when Izaya had told him the game plan, the informant had just grinned and told him, "He'll come."

Maybe Erika was actually right and they're dating. At least it'll explain why Shizuo would ever come.

It wasn't a chilly day, but that didn't mean anything when they were standing on the roof of a six-story building. Izaya looked around and spotted a man wearing yellow beanie and knew that things were going according to plan. Kida-kun is in place. And now he needed the next piece. He turned around and faced Mikado, who looked confused as to why they were on the rooftop.

"Izaya-san," he said, "why are we here?"

To watch my grand plan unfold, of course! Izaya mentally grinned, but outwardly, he put on his most sincere expression. "Mikado-kun, I've thought over what you told me the other day. And I've come to the conclusion that I do need to apologize to Shizu-chan." Although those words were a lie and he had no intentions of apologizing to anybody (especially to that stupid lug of a man!), he still couldn't fight off the grimace on his face when he said those words.

"That's great!" Mikado, as predicted, exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you, Izaya-san!"

What am I, a dog? Izaya pushed the thought away. Instead, he smiled and said, "So I thought you could call him. You know, since he's angry at me, he hasn't picked up any of my calls."

"Of course!" the brat said, looking rather happy that he was helping his love rival. Then the whole situation must've sudden cleared up for him, because his smiling face fell. "But then you two would get back together."

The informant had planned for this and was delighted that the brat was actually acting as predicted for once. Figuring that he might as well as use this to his advantage, Izaya pushed on.

"I was actually going to break up with him," he said. "I decided that if all Shizu-chan ever does is make me angry, why should I stick with him? And you know, since this is a sensitive issue, I thought it would be a much better conversation face-to-face, if you catch my drift."

This answer mollified the young teen, who happily called Shizuo to the building.

Perfect. Everything's all set up and ready to roll! His plan would come alive within minutes and Izaya felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. He just couldn't wait for everything to occur! Everything would be set into action once Shizuo arrived. Then as the Yellow Scarves hold the man down, Mikado would probably do one of two things. He could run down the six-story building to the scene, only to witness his old crush, Kida, kill his new crush, Shizuo. Or he could stay standing on the roof, and watch the whole scene where it was safe. But knowing the brat's tendency to try and get in the way of danger, he was more likely to run down there.

And he won't be fast enough to save Shizuo! The thought filled the informant with insurmountable glee. Just the idea that Mikado would witness the death made the death more satisfying than it usually would be. He grinned. Perfect. Everything is so perfect!

"Heiwajima-san said that he would be here soon." Mikado's voice cut through Izaya's planning, but for once, the informant didn't mind.

"Uh… Izaya-san," Mikado said, biting his lips uncertainly. "I'm just a little confused. Why now? I… I mean… Erika-nee made it sound like you guys loved each other deeply. But-"

"And you're confused as to why I had a sudden change of thought. It's quite simple, Mikado-kun. Shizu-chan has become too predictable."

At Mikado's wrinkled brow, the informant gladly explained.

"You see, I love humans. I love the way they laugh when they feel happy. I love the way they wrinkle their foreheads in confusion. I love the way they cry when a tragedy befalls them. I love how they try so hard to deny the truth, and I love the way they try to undercut one another for whatever they believe to be the best outcome. I love humans! Their existence, their lives, their whole being! I love them all! It makes my job easy, because my love for humans allows me to predict them."

Mikado's frown deepened. "And if there was someone you couldn't predict, would you go after them?"

"Yup!"

Blue eyes watched Izaya carefully. It reminded the informant of the day, so long ago, when he first realized that the teen was hiding something. Like a predator watching its prey. It excited him as well as unnerve him.

"Good thing you can predict all the humans in the world, Izaya-san." It was said off-handedly. Almost like a joke, something Izaya should've been able to easily brush off. But those eyes!

"And yet here you stand. My job is all about predicting humans, Mikado-kun. I predict them because it's easy, because I love them all. They're all open books! I read them and get my information, because I love humans! Do you understand? My job is easy because humans are easy. And yet here you stand. You defy all expectations. You defy all human logic. You're impossible to predict!"

Mikado's shoulders tensed, but his voice was light as always. Izaya was certain he saw understanding flash behind those blue eyes. But he didn't comment and the brat didn't bring it up. "I'm easy to predict, Izaya-san."

"Lie. And you know that I'm right. The question becomes why. Why are you so hard to predict? Could it be-"

"Maybe you weren't meant to predict me."

Again, those words were spoken lightly, but there was a slight bite to them. Different from last times, Izaya noted with delight. He was getting to the brat.

"No," the informant declared. "That's not it at all, is it, Mikado-kun? You're purposefully making it hard to predict you. Know what I think? I think you're hiding behind a mask. The current you that everyone knows is a lie."

Mikado chuckled softly at that and shook his head. "That's not it at all, Izaya-san," the brat said softly. He smiled as if pained. "You're wrong."

I hate how he can turn me around so easily. But before Izaya could open his mouth, the shouting began.

Heiwajima Shizuo had arrived.

"Would you look at that?" Izaya said. He looked over the rooftops and easily spotted the bartender outfit in the throngs of weapon-wielding Yellow Scarves members. "Shizu-chan looks to be in trouble!" He tried very hard to hold back a giggle. He really did.

Mikado ran to his side within seconds and looked over. His eyes found the tall figure, who received a heavy blow to the head, causing red blood to fall freely from the blonde hair. The color drained from Mikado's already pale face. "Heiwajima-san!" he breathed, worry clear in his voice. He flinched as he watched Shizuo exchange blows with the Yellow Scarves members. "Izaya-san! We have to help him!"

Izaya motioned towards the stairway down. Go ahead. And by the time you're there, Shizu-chan would be loooooooong dead!

But instead of dashing off for the stairs as the informant had predicted, Mikado did something strangely outrageous. He glanced around the block and then nodded. He took a deep breath, and took a step up on to the ledge.

Izaya balked. He's not going to…?

The brat jumped.

"Heiwajima-san!"

The shout grabbed everyone's attention. They were all quick to locate the source of the sound to come from a teen, who seemed to have jumped from the top of the rooftop. The Yellow Scarves members glanced at each other. This wasn't part of the plan!

Then Shizuo broke out into flurry of movements. He pushed and threw random people out of his way as he rushed towards the falling teen. When he was right below the kid, he spread out his arms as if to catch him.

The Yellow Scarves members, unsure what to do now, all turned to the figure holding the newspaper on the other side of the street. Masaomi had been making his way over, to do his part of the plan. But now their shogun was in the middle of the street, one hand in his jacket packet, where the gun undoubtedly was hidden. Instead of whipping out the gun to take aim or to finish making his way towards the crowd, Masaomi just stood there. There was something akin to panic in their boss's face, something akin to pure shock and disbelief.

Masaomi took one step forwards, his mouth opening in a soundless scream-

Why is he here?

-as Shizuo braced himself and caught Mikado in his arms, before he rolled to lessen the force. The two rolled their way until they met the wall of the building. Luckily for Mikado, Shizuo's back met the hard solid, cushioning the impact. Instead, his ear was filled with Shizuo's hiss and a soft curse. By the time the movement died out, Shizuo held Mikado bridal style, their faces only inches away from one another.

Mikado slowly let out the breath he had been holding. Safe. He was safe. And-

"What the hell were you thinking?" Shizuo exclaimed, not realizing that his mouth was too close to Mikado's ears for that kind of screaming. "You could've been seriously hurt! Do you want to end up in the hospital again? Were you thinking at all?"

Masaomi breathed slowly. That was Mikado. There was no question about that. It had only been a year, but he hadn't changed a bit. The Emperor – his ex-best friend – was in Heiwajima Shizuo's arms. He closed his eyes, forcing his heart to slow down. Damn it, this wasn't supposed to happen! Shit! Why's he here? Why here of all places and-

"Shogun?"

His eyes snapped open and he realized that he was still in the middle of the street, the Yellow Scarves members all uneasily around him. He wet his lips, because really there was only one thing to say.

"Retreat!"

- and why Heiwajima Shizuo?

Izaya stared at the sight before him. Once again, the brat destroyed yet another of his prediction, bringing down with him the grand plan. Soft laughter escaped his mouth before it exploded into full-out laughter. Damn you, he thought as he laughed. Damn you for making me want you.

"He-Heiwajima-san!" Mikado said, desperately trying to calm the other man. "It wasn't- I wasn't- please listen!"

But Shizuo wasn't listening. He was still shouting at Mikado at the close distance, which really wasn't good for the teen's ears. Then Shizuo finally stopped, sighing deeply. He showed no signs of letting Mikado go either. Not that the teen was complaining. He felt safe and warm in those arms. Almost as if nothing would ever hurt him. Content.

Then Shizuo looked at Mikado. Ordinarily, Mikado would've been distracted by the cocoa brown eyes before him. However, he could not tear his blue eyes away from the blood still pouring from the man's head.

"C'mon, Heiwajima-san," he said finally. "Let's get that looked at."

Shizuo slumped and slowly unclenched his hands, allowing Mikado freedom. But I don't want to leave. He scolded himself for being so silly. Instead, he slowly stood, and moved to support Shizuo as the ex-bartender tried to stand. He put Shizuo's left arm around his neck and waited patiently for him to regain his balance. A quick look around assured him that the Yellow Scarves would no longer bother them.

Mikado let out the breath he had been holding. Now if only he could help support Shizuo back home…

"Do you know the way back?"

Ah, this is awfully familiar. Mikado smiled softly. "I just take a bunch of turns, right?"

A ghost of a smile touched Shizuo's face. "Not Celty's place," he said. "Mine."

Blue eyes widened. He's not serious…?

"Take me home, Ryugamine-kun. My home."

Mikado nodded slowly, gulping. "Okay, Heiwajima-san."

Shizuo scowled. "And stop calling me that. It makes me sound old."

Soft chuckles vibrated from the small body up to Shizuo's. "Alright," Mikado said. "Then you have to call me Mikado, Shizuo-san."

"Drop the 'san,' too. You said so yourself. You're not a little kid."

There was the briefest of pauses as Mikado considered this. Then he shyly peeked up at Shizuo through his eyelashes, an adorable pink spreading across his cheeks. "Shizuo," he said, dropping all suffixes. "Let's go home."

The ex-bartender didn't bat an eye. Instead he nodded, satisfied. "Left here," he said pointing away. "Mikado."

Mikado let out an excited exclaim. He laughed heartily, tugging Shizuo along towards the direction.

Well it's going pretty well… The ex-bartender looked at the bundle of joy. Let's push my luck a little further.

"I must've been hit harder than I thought," he said, his eyes never leaving Mikado.

The reaction was instantaneous. Blue eyes widened in fear and concern. White teeth nibbled worriedly at plump, pink lips. "Hei- Shizuo?" he whispered. "Does it hurt a lot? Should I call a cab?"

Shizuo lowered his head until their foreheads touched. He faintly registered the worry Mikado extruded. But he could not tear his eyes away from those soft-looking-

"I really want a taste," he said. "Forgive me a little later, would you?"

Then his lips closed the gap between the two.