.
PRELUDE B
EYE OF THE STORM
.
"Shizu-chan!"
Residents of Ikebukuro stilled at the sound of that nickname for the Monster of Ikebukuro –
Who was walking as if he had not heard Orihara Izaya's voice.
"Shizu-chan!" Izaya's smirk had faltered slightly, "Hey, Shizu-chan!"
Shizuo seemed to still not hear him, even though his friends had stopped and turned.
"Uh, Shizuo…?"
"The flea is present, Shizuo-sempai."
"Ah."
Shizuo finally stopped. He turned- walked forward towards Izaya and people prepared to flee –
And smiled.
"Hey, Izaya. Good morning. You're here early today."
"…"
"…"
"…?!"
"Good…morning?"
Izaya stared as if he was seeing the Monster of Ikebukuro for the first time.
"Nice morning, isn't it? How was your day?"
"Good? I had to wake up early to meet a client, but that's fine since I started the day by observing one of my beloved humans…"
"Yeah. It's troublesome to wake up early, but it helps you start your day right."
Shizuo agreed with Izaya's words heartily, as if he and Izaya were mutual friends whom had known each other for a long time.
"Of course. You shouldn't waste the day away by lying in bed, it's boring –"
Izaya paused, as a taunting smirk came to his face –
"Why do that when I can come to see Shizu-chan who's such a monster he shouldn't exist?"
"Really? You came to see me? That kind of makes me happy."
Shizuo was smiling and the happiness in his eyes was visible even behind his sunglasses.
"…."
…What the hell is happening?
Izaya was as lost as the people around him.
"Don't get me wrong Shizu-chan. I didn't come to see you – I came to see you be the monster you are. It's so fun to mess with Shizu-chan, you know?"
Those words came out as it was the only thing he could think of to say.
"Is it?" Shizuo said.
There was no trace of anger on his expression.
"Is that why you mess with me? If that's the case, it doesn't seem so bad anymore. It's like a hobby for you, right? It makes you happy, right? Does it make you smile? I kind of want to see you smile, Izaya."
With every sentence, the smile on Shizuo's face grew until he was smiling at Izaya as if he believed that would make Izaya smile back at him.
"…I don't know what game you're playing Shizu-chan -"
Izaya's eyes were narrowed and his tone had changed from teasing to one of extreme annoyance.
"But it isn't funny. There's a nice vending machine beside you there, why don't you throw it at me?"
"Why should I?"
"Because you hate me. You hate me, Shizu-chan, right?"
"How can I hate you when I love you?"
"…Shizu-chan. Stop it. You don't want to see me when I'm pissed off."
"I wouldn't mind. I've never really seen you pissed off before, but when you love someone, you accept all sides of them, right?"
"Ah that."
Izaya's smile twisted cruelly.
"That's what I came here for today. Since Shizu-chan has so shamelessly declared his love, allow me to say –"
He swept out a hand casually, but his gaze was as sharp as his knives.
"I hate Shizu-chan. I really hate Shizu-chan. I will never love Shizu-chan back. Because Shizu-chan is a monster who should just die already. If Shizu-chan wants to see me smile, he should just die."
"Can't. If I die I won't be able to see you smile. So I should just find another way to make you smile."
Shizuo illogically said, as if he feared not death but not being able to see his hate turned love.
"That isn't the point! What the hell, Shizu-chan?! Do you even know what you're saying?! I really, really hate you!"
It was now Izaya whom had lost his patience and started yelling at the man he hated with all his heart as people watched in surprised silence at the role reversal.
"It doesn't matter if you hate me. I love you. Whether you hate me or love me, I love you."
Shizuo said those words with a simplicity as if there could be no other way, as if there was just him and Izaya and they were not surrounded by the whispering residents of Ikebukuro.
"Are you really that retarded?! You just got rejected! I just rejected you! Shouldn't you be angry?!"
Had Izaya not been so angry, he would have been appalled at himself for stomping forward like the beast he hated.
"You already rejected me. So it doesn't matter if it happens again."
Shizuo pointed out with calm acceptance.
Izaya was close enough to grab hold of Shizuo's bartender shirt. He was unable to lift the taller man, and so he settled for glaring daggers at brown eyes, fingernails digging into the fabric of Shizuo's shirt.
"You. Piss me off."
"…Sorry. I'm just saying what I feel."
Shizuo said as he met Izaya's eyes with honest brown eyes. He curled his fingers around Izaya's hand, leaning forward slightly.
"My heart is kind of beating fast right now. If you don't move away, I'll be tempted to kiss you. Up close, you're really beautiful. Izaya."
The honesty in Shizuo's eyes remained unchanged, despite such cheesy words that could be found in a romance novel or shoujo manga.
Izaya grimaced and shot back, pulling out one of his knives.
"I think you hit your head. I think you hit your head really, really hard, Heiwajima Shizuo."
Izaya's lips had curled into a snarl as he flashed his teeth at the monster who had teeth that could break metal.
"…Did I, Tom-san?"
"Not…as far as I know of."
Tom said slowly, unsure what to make of this new predicament as Shizuo looked at him with genuine curiosity.
"You piss me off." Izaya said, "You really piss me off, Shizuo."
His body was trembling –
In anger.
"Get out of my sight. Now."
The sharp blade was pointed in a direct line to Shizuo's heart.
"…I was this bad huh. It's a good thing you aren't in love with me. I guess getting lunch together was really a wistful dream, huh?"
Without waiting for a reply, as if he was talking to himself, Shizuo started walking away from Izaya.
"Then, I'll see you another time, Izaya. Let's go, Tom-san, Vorona."
"A-Ah, yeah…"
"…Affirmative."
"I hate you! I REALLY, REALLY HATE YOU, HEIWAJIMA SHIZUO!"
Shizuo didn't even look back at him and the knife left Izaya's hand- flying towards Shizuo and piercing his back.
Shizuo merely continued walking, until Vorona tugged at his sleeve, then pulled the knife out of his back and showed it to him. He blinked, then shrugged and took it from her, sliding it into his pocket.
…
For the first time in his life, Izaya was overcome with the urge to scream.
But he was aware of the whispers around him, and he gritted his teeth and stalked through the crowd, glaring at anyone who dared to even glance at him.
Using his parkour skills, he leapt on top of a sign which Shizuo had not thrown at him, then used that as leverage to jump to the wall of a building, scaling up it effortlessly.
His phone was in his hand as his thumb jabbed the buttons, a scowl on his face.
The phone rang twice and he waited impatiently -
"What is it?"
"Go to my computer. Documents, Information, scroll down to Heiwajima Shizuo."
"…Password?"
"Shizu-chan."
"Then?"
"Go to his description. Right at the very top, type in bold the following words. 'In love with Orihara Izaya, refuses to be angered- requires new tactic.'"
Despite running on top of the building at a fast pace, his voice was curt and lacking breathlessness – and its usual silky quality.
"And then?"
Namie sounded amused.
"Don't laugh. This is important information, for me to deal with that unpredictable monster. Exit. In the folder, there's a ZIP file. Unzip it, extract it to the folder Heiwajima Shizuo. Open it and give me the first ten numbers you see."
"I'll message you. I take it your plan didn't work?"
"You won't be getting a raise."
Those were the words Izaya said before he ended the call before Namie could reply.
His phone vibrated in his hand and he accessed the message, dialing the first number immediately.
"Who the hell is this?"
The scowl on Izaya's face was replaced with a malicious smile tinged with underlining frustration.
"Someone who will help you get your revenge on Heiwajima Shizuo."
…
…
The Monster of Ikebukuro.
Heiwajima Shizuo.
The name that strikes fear into the hearts of all men in Ikebukuro.
Why, one might ask.
But must there be a 'why'?
Do you need a reason to fear something?
It's like a phobia. There may have been a reason, but it was forgotten. So it's like you can't even think of a reason, can't think of anything but the fear.
He's like that.
He's like a phobia. People fear him just because. The sound of his name has their hearts beating faster in anxiety and fear. And when they're in his vicinity all reason leaves them because of the fear.
They can talk. They can talk about taking him down all they want. They can boast, they can plan.
But when the time comes when they actually meet him, when he's staring them in the eye, they freeze. They sweat. They panic.
They fear.
All their preparation crumbles away. And they're scared. They're scared because they know they made a mistake, and they can't escape.
Something like –
A black hole.
He's like a black hole. Heiwajima Shizuo.
Just like humans can't cross the event horizon of a black hole, humans can't cross the line with Heiwajima Shizuo.
The event horizon, or, 'the point of no return', where the gravitational pull is so great that escape is impossible.
Nothing can escape the event horizon, not even light.
He's like that, isn't he? Once you cross the line with him, there's no escape. They can only wait and fear and pray, in the moment leading to inevitable destruction.
It may not be entirely their fault. When undisturbed, he seems like a normal man. He seems like a calm, peaceful man, perhaps a little dense and oblivious. He doesn't seem like anyone of threat.
Black holes destroy with tidal forces. The point depends on the black hole's size.
I would say he's a supermassive black hole. For such a dangerous vortex at the galaxy's center, the point lies within the event horizon. Simply put, a human may cross the event horizon without noticing anything until it's too late. Simply put, they can cross the 'point of no return' without knowing until it's too late. Because once inside the event horizon, falling towards the center is unavoidable.
He's so calm and composed at first glance that people let down their guard around him. They drop their defences while not even knowing they're crossing the point of no return until they're 'sphagettified'.
…My apologies. I meant, spaghettification, the extreme tidal forces of a black hole stretching a human like spaghetti. Which is an euphemism really. In actual fact, objects will be destroyed and humans killed as the tidal forces tear apart molecules.
Sounds rather painful, doesn't it?
A black hole, something with no end, something whose sole purpose is destruction.
Who else but the God of Destruction would fit such a role?
But, he wasn't always like that.
Heiwajima Shizuo wasn't always a black hole.
He started out as a Star, a really big star bursting with potential.
Still rather common. There are billions of stars in the universe, and when you look up into the night sky, you can already see thousands.
Kind of like humans.
But I digress. So, Heiwajima was just one of many stars. A particularly big star, but not the only one.
And then he grew. He grew and grew. His strength grew and grew until he couldn't contain it anymore.
Do you know how stars die?
They die by exploding. A supernova explosion.
The massive star he was died early. It grew and grew until it became unbearable for him, until he couldn't control it anymore.
There are three paths stars can go when they die.
They can become a white dwarf if they're light weight stars, like the Sun. Until the light fades away to a black dwarf.
For heavy weight stars, they can become a neutron star, if their mass is not enough to overcome the neutron degeneracy pressure.
And if their mass is enough, they will become black holes.
Just like humans, stars can't choose their fate. Their death is inevitable.
But being a massive star, the moment he exploded, he was to become a black hole.
It was the only way he could go.
Perhaps, if Heiwajima Shizuo had been a different person, or if his strength had been given to someone else, someone who could control himself better, perhaps that massive potential wouldn't have burst so early.
Perhaps it wouldn't have destroyed him until he had to use it to destroy everything around him.
He didn't ask for his strength. He didn't ask to have that superhuman strength, like how massive stars didn't ask to be born big.
He didn't ask for it. But he had it. He had it, and was stuck with it. If he had been less of a good man, or a more cunning person, maybe it would have been beneficial to him. Perhaps he could have used it for his own self-interests.
But Heiwajima Shizuo is not that kind of man.
Unlike a certain someone I won't mention.
And because he was exactly the kind of man he was, he became a black hole.
Never seen, yet widely known.
And once seen, a little too close, only destruction awaits.
But despite everything, Heiwajima Shizuo is human. There are people he cares about, people he would never hurt even if he has to destroy himself first.
The difference between a Black Hole and Heiwajima Shizuo is, a Black Hole is a Physics Phenomenon and Heiwajima Shizuo is a Human Phenomenon.
And being human, Heiwajima Shizuo can fall in love.
But with a catalyst, with a little tweaking of strings by the mastermind behind the scene –
Even love can turn dangerous with Heiwajima Shizuo –
Just like he is.
The centre may be as calm as the man you see.
But the storm inside his heart is quite the contrary.
…
…
…
Author's note
Sooo, I just managed to read through the first volume of Durarara SH! and forgive me but I just need to let these feelings of excitement as well as my usual analysis out!
Oh speaking about analysis I have a tumblr now (finally) the link is in my profile if you're curious (though the update may take a while to show up). I'm just like reblogging stuff though lol (sorry but the first episode and the opening is just too awesome for words, hence pictures). But I might post analysis and stuff about Durarara, my thoughts and all when I'm more confident, maybe. I mean here is okay (or at least I think so since it's my story) but tumblr is...more public? I don't know. Analysis in my story is more private I guess. Well, it's just a lack of confidence as usual, something I'm hoping to fix in this new year.
Anyway enough about my rambling –
SPOILER Warning for Durarara! SH, the sequel to Durarara
(I'll talk about Shizuo and Izaya first, comparison between them and Shizuo's development, then I'll talk about the new interesting character who seems like he'll affect both Shizuo and Izaya.)
And as usual, the words below are all optional~
So. Shizuo. Oh Shizuo. I am so happy the sequel seems to focus so much on Shizuo! Since Izaya is gone and all. Of course it still focuses on Celty but Shizuo appears a lot more. Remember how I typed Shizuo as INTP? Well there was this scene where Shizuo wanted 'qualifications' and talked to Tom about it (apparently Tom has a lot of qualifications wow)
...
"Well, it's normal to start off getting a qualification by thinking you want to do something. Do you have anything you want to do outside of your current job?"
Tom asked this frankly, and Shizuo thought for a moment before he replied.
"If I had a clear idea it would narrow things down a bit, wouldn't it? But I still can't see anything I want to do in the future."
"Then let's not talk about the present; how about when you were a kid?"
"Eh?"
"At a time like this it's important to go back to your roots too, you know. Surely when you were a kid you had one or two dreams for the future."
As Tom said this to him, Shizuo began to think once more.
-A dream - my dream?
-Right, I had something like that.
After thinking for a few more seconds, Shizuo remembered what he had written for his elementary school graduation anthology.
"Yeah... Right, that was it."
"Did you remember?"
Shizuo, reminiscing, nodded fiercely as he replied.
"I think I wanted to be a detective."
.
-It would be interesting if he had a brainy-type companion...
-The brainy type, huh.
Tom ran through all of the people he knew who seemed smart.
As he did so, a certain informant's face came to mind, and he quickly erased the image.
-...No way, that's the one guy that just can't do.
-I can't even picture them standing next to one another peacefully.
-They're not at a level where they can be foils to each other like in a movie; more like one where just seeing each other's face has them trying to kill one another...
-Speaking of which, that guy's really vanished from the city.
While Tom was thinking such things, Shizuo, as if having come to terms with things on his own, began to nod.
"Yeah... I see - that's it, Tom-san. Staying with this job for so long, somehow, it might be because it's like the image of the detective I wanted to be as a kid."
"Eh?"
At this, Tom thought back on Shizuo and the job they had done up till now.
Searching for people who had disappeared while holding onto a debt, occasionally battling with debtors who turned on them and attacked.
-From Durarara SH! Volume 1
...
Let me just laugh at how Tom thinks of Izaya as Shizuo's detective partner LOL.
But a detective. A detective! I am now 110% sure Shizuo is INTP (It seems that most detectives are INTP). And Tom says their job is like another detective job but you know who gives Shizuo the real detective job? Izaya. Throughout the novels Shizuo continuously thinks, connects the events and pinpoint the originator - who is always Izaya. You could say it's because Shizuo has a natural bias against Izaya (99% of the things being his fault) but the way that he does it, thinking back now, is very detective-like. He runs through the possibilities and comes to the most accurate conclusion. So Shizuo, don't hate Izaya so much, he lets you do your dream detective job LOL.
The reason why I'm so excited about this is that it all just suddenly makes sense (at least to me). Besides his INTP personality, it seems we're getting more information on Shizuo and I love it 'cause there's still so much of him I don't know! It's like L in Death Note, though unfortunately we never really got the chance to see him outside of his detective job since he's so dedicated to it, the closest we came to was that scene between him and Light. Coincidentally, both Shizuo and L love sweet things LOL. And the same thing is happening to Shizuo here, now that Izaya who occupied his attention practically 24/7 is gone, he thinks more about himself and his personality now.
...
Shizuo gazed at this scene himself, and said, emotionally:
"Now the flea is gone I feel like the city's really quietened down. When I think of how it's been like this for more than a year, somehow I feel like I need to up my game, too…"
...
And I will just stop here before I go off on another rant about Shizuo or there won't be any space for Izaya.
Izaya. Although he's not in the present there was one interesting thing he said to a client in the past who asked about Celty -
...
"The question is, what do humans do when they see something unlike them?"
He rose slowly from his chair, and walked up to a shelf with various books.
"Will they revere it; will they simply shiver in fear; will they make it their gateway to the extraordinary, their tool to escape reality; will they try to take advantage of it; will they try to kill it; will they eliminate it as something they'd hate even the sight of; or will they run from it themselves instead… What about you? Well, any answer you give is fine."
The informant stroked the spines of the books, and declared once more to his client:
"Because I love humans."
And - as if he had suddenly thought of it, he mentioned a man.
"Well, there's even someone I know who gave the completely unthinkable answer of loving the Headless Rider romantically. That, as well, I respect as one of humanity's choices."
The informant took out a number of books, and arranged them as he said:
"People exhibit different behaviours when faced with something different. Even if it's not a monster or some sort of supernatural creature; even with others who are human like themselves. A great man could be a hero in a war, but when peace comes he might immediately become feared like a monster for being preposterously strong. Depending on the people, the era, and the society in question, it's natural to have a variety of responses."
Shrugging lightly, the informant spoke ironically.
"In that sense, when a monster is born in society, it's not the humans that matter. It's the 'monster'; that's what I think."
...
"...That is, out of the humans with their full spectrum of reactions, it's a matter of whose hand they take."
-From Durarara SH! Volume 1
...
I actually really like Izaya in this scene. Because he sounds...sane. Yeah he's still his human-loving self but he does it in a way such that it seems he's not insane as he's usually depicted, he's just a human expressing his feelings and opinions about other humans.
And, for the second time, he acknowledges Shizuo as human (the first time was when he realized he was angry at the 'human Heiwajima Shizuo' in the flashback with Shinra) He even calls Shizuo 'a great man' LOL. And if Izaya really does love humans as he says so, which really does seem so, there are a few possibilities why he hates Shizuo -
1. He loves humans, and he wants to be like them, they shun Shizuo, and so he does the same
2. He loves humans, he himself is human, he savors in his own reaction towards Shizuo's 'not like-human' existence, he considers himself a unique human, and so he doesn't fear Shizuo but shuns him like everyone does (because he wants to be human like his humans).
3. He loves humans, all humans, but for some reason Shizuo makes him so angry from his rejection, makes him feel so much, he can't love Shizuo as a human, because Izaya's love for humans stems from his objective view of them, and not an emotional one - which seems to be the case with Shizuo. Rather than analyzing these feelings which will lead to a potential relationship (because relationships come from feelings, whether it's platonic or romantic) he conveniently labels Shizuo as a monster, because Izaya can't love him objectively when he can love all other humans, so Shizuo can't be human.
And if I put my Shizaya sunglasses on -
4. He is interested in Shizuo. Shizuo is the most human with being able to use full potential of the human body, and he's the human Izaya is most interested in.
He has the greatest human potential. And he knows, everyone fears Shizuo (Izaya is always saying so), and he knows, that Shizuo knows everyone fears him. And so he makes himself stand out, taunts Shizuo, shows him he's not afraid of him, wanting the 'monster' to notice him, and take his hand.
So when Shizuo gets more and more people who are not afraid of him, Izaya is annoyed. Not only is Shizuo not alone when Izaya is, if there are more and more people who don't fear Shizuo, then Izaya is no longer anyone special. Celty, Shinra, Tom and Kasuka are fine, but adding Vorona, Akane, Izaya's sisters, Kida, etc, everyone is beginning to see Shizuo as human. And because Shizuo hates Izaya, Shizuo will take all of their hands, and never Izaya's. And Izaya hates Shizuo for that, because he was the one who got to Shizuo first. He's not afraid of Shizuo, but Shizuo rejected him. They're not afraid of Shizuo, and Shizuo doesn't reject them. It's as if Izaya is in some way, inferior to them, and for someone proud like Izaya, inferiority is not something he should feel and he hates it.
...
Izaya's love from humans stems from his love of possibilities. Humans have potential and that potential gives rise to different possibilities. And he loves it, because there are so many humans, a variety of them, a variety of reactions, and a variety of possibilities (which doesn't make sense why he would hate Shizuo, since Shizuo exhibits the most unpredictable possibilities)
In this, he and Shizuo are similar. Having a detective-like mindset, Shizuo also considers possibilities. It's something natural for him, but unlike Izaya, he needs a catalyst to get his brain working, because he doesn't think about possibilities everytime like Izaya does. The difference is, Izaya sees the possibilities of the future, but Shizuo sees the possibilities of the present, while perhaps connecting to the past (maybe that's why he always thinks Izaya is trying to frame him). It's just something he notices, and so he doesn't really feel any emotional connection or interest, unlike Izaya.
Another similarity is that both Shizuo and Izaya have knowledge - and that knowledge contributes to their personality. Izaya has lots of books and in the scene as he talks, he strokes the books, making it seem as if he is trying to replicate them into reality. Since Izaya loves so humans so much, I'm guessing he has all the famous people who contributed to society in his head, Oscar Wilde, Einstein, etc and that's where he sees human potential from, and he probably knows a lot of history and war too and humans' dark side. This culminates in just - human potential, good or bad, and so Izaya loves humans for all the possibilities that could happen with various situations, good or bad, it's all interesting for him. It's like his books reflecting reality. That's what makes Izaya unique. We all read books, we all know the famous people in history, but it's almost like fiction - very rare cases and such success is very low possibility. Izaya doesn't think like that. To him, everything is possible. Because both Einstein and the humans around him are that - human. And if they are human, they have human potential and that's what Izaya is interested in. He plays the role of a god, putting them in situations and predicting their reactions. And so he's happy when humans exceed his expectations.
Izaya loves knowledge and information, and so he's naturally very intelligent. But Shizuo doesn't love knowledge and information. Yet he is smarter than he seems, because of his interest and natural curiosity. While Izaya develops his intelligence form his vast information, Shizuo develops his intelligence by thinking. Especially since he's shunned, he doesn't really interact with people and society, and so he thinks a lot to himself since he's always alone, and comes to his own realizations and principles. Not to say Shizuo doesn't read, 'cause it seems he does, with his usual Shizuo-logic -
...
"Humans… die easily, you know… It's possible that, by the shock of being splashed from a plastic bottle, someone would suffer myocardial infarction and die, right?"
"In other words, you just tried to kill me, didn't you…?"
"In other words… Even if I kill you you can't say a thing, haaaaaaargh!"
...
See the detective-like connecting (even though it's in a twisted way)? Humans dying easily is information he's taken in, myocardical infarction is a possibility.
Myocardial infarction basically means a heart attack...I don't know how Shizuo knows such words because I didn't know such words existed until today! (And I am just laughing and loving that Shizuo continues to surprise me again and again) Maybe Shizuo read it somewhere, but even if he doesn't read, he probably learnt it from Shinra (he knows unnecessary complicated words like that, and 'cause he's a doctor). So unlike Izaya, Shizuo may not actively seek out information, but he takes in information and turns it over in his head with his logic. He independently handles information and creates his own knowledge, and thus develops his intelligence. All of this is because, of Shizuo's natural curiosity. And that's why I think Shizuo is really smarter than he seems. It's only that he doesn't get many chances to exhibit his intelligence, because of his natural tendency towards violence. Because intelligent people are usually cool-headed, like Izaya and Shinra.
(Also, I am beginning to rethink Shinra as ISFP, he may just be NT like Shizuo and Izaya. He doesn't seem like INTP, and he talks a lot, so perhaps he's ENTP (he doesn't seem like INTJ like Izaya, or ENTJ, he's more like Erika, always talking seeming nonsense) or ISTP well he just seems more like a T...and, I think Tsukumoya Shinichi may just be Kishitani Shinra. I don't know, they sound a bit similar...and Shinra seems to always appear after his words. It's a bit suspicious that Shinra seems to know a lot about humans and human nature and even breaking down Izaya's personality, intentions and feelings to the point that Izaya isn't surprised, even though he doesn't interact with humans except his clients, Shizuo and Izaya because he has no interest in them at all. Maybe Shinra is like 'Celty loves Ikebukuro so much, I love Celty so I need to know all about Ikebukuro for my beloved! Taunting and making fun of Izaya is just a bonus of course!' Lol~Well, this is just a theory of mine~)
Regarding Shizuo's development, there are mixed opinions, but Tom said he seems to have 'grown a little'. And it's mentioned that he doesn't go as far with his violence.
But I think Shizuo may be getting worse. He doesn't snap as fast, and doesn't go as far, but there are more instances. For example, someone was just talking bad about Celty and he got angry enough to attack the person. Yes it's because he cares about Celty, but the guy was just a kid and in the past Shizuo never laid his hands on a kid, the most was the forehead flick he gave Kida.
Because Izaya, Shizuo's power outlet is gone. And perhaps, deep inside, because Shizuo is a truth-seeking person, he wanted to come to a sort of resolution with Izaya (and with his hatred, that resolution was killing Izaya). Yet Izaya is not dead, he's gone, Shizuo doesn't know where he went. There are so many possibilities but Izaya has never shown his face in Ikebukuro since then so Shizuo can't do anything about it. And the matter which has occupied his life for years is left unresolved.
And it seems he still can't forget Izaya, even though Izaya has been gone for so long and there's no trace of him anywhere and the city is peaceful (he said so himself). Shizuo reflected later that he didn't stop attacking the kid because he's the 'same type of person as the flea'. Shizuo had no evidence, it was just a feeling. Even if it is true, Shizuo still strongly associates his emotions and anger with Izaya. He's still obsessed with Izaya even when Izaya is not there. Because he still hasn't come to a resolution with his feelings towards Izaya. And for Shizuo who doesn't really feel any feelings strongly besides anger, it may be quite a mental strain.
(As for why Shizuo in this story is peaceful, it's because coming to the realization of his love for Izaya is a resolution of his feelings for him)
And with this, moving on to the new character who will affect both Shizuo and Izaya -
He seems to be the replacement for Izaya, 'the same type of person'. Yes Aoba has also mentioned to be that, but I was never really interested in him because he works behind the scenes. And not in a mastermind way. But this guy, Kuon, is observing the city in a mastermind way. And, he's only in high school.
Izaya's past seems to be common knowledge now, and comparing it with the new guy, Izaya seems better. Shinra being stabbed was a development in Izaya's twisted personality, according to Izaya himself. Yes Izaya was twisted in high school like the new kid, but he was not a mastermind yet, he developed his connections with Yakuza and the like. He was just starting out on his twisted path.
But Kuon, the new guy, has already been making money through shady means even before entering high school. I don't know whether he has an incident in his past like the Shinra stabbing incident like Izaya, but to me it seems he's already been manipulative in middle school, maybe even before, while Izaya tried to be normal in middle school. So, you could say he's worse than Izaya.
He finds people tedious when he can't make use of them, and he hates humans because 'their reactions are all the same'. So will he love Shizuo then? Lol. Anyway seems like he's the new mastermind of the city. And it seems that he's already met Izaya before, I suspect he was the client Izaya was talking to in the past who asked about the Headless Rider, because he wants to make money off her. And he said he can't believe there's an informant who can love humans (which Izaya mentioned in the conversation in the past).
However, I think he may be 'weaker' than Izaya, because if he gets frustrated so easily when humans are tedious and don't react the way he wants them to, he'll lose out to Izaya who revels in any and all types of human reactions. While Izaya is INTJ and the Mastermind, I think Kuon may be ENTJ, the Fieldmarshal, as he acts like Kida (who's clearly an extrovert) but thinks like Izaya. He seems to want to manage people instead of simply just manipulating them, and so he gets annoyed and cold when people don't react the way he expects them to.
What I'm interested in is his reaction towards Shizuo and interaction, and Izaya's reaction to that. Shizuo obviously has already identified him as the flea type of person, so he doesn't like him. But what will Izaya feel at someone taking his place as the object of Shizuo's hatred?
As for Shizuo, seems Kuon wants to make use of him, perhaps he'll compare him to Izaya. Shizuo has always identified Izaya as the worst, but what will happen when someone who seems to be worse than Izaya, comes into the picture? Because while Izaya wanted to start a war to go to Valhalla, Kuon wants to swallow the city whole, himself included, due to his hatred of humans.
I don't know what will happen, and I think it will be interesting to wait and see. I'm glad the sequel retains the usual mystery and nuance of the setting, and it seems the past and future are coming to mix in an interesting amalgamation. And I'm just loving the various possibilities that could happen, especially as while Durarara focused more on Izaya, Durarara SH now has Shizuo as the central character.
SH means Snake Hands (not Shizuo Heiwajima lol) and Kuon has been described as a snake. Since Izaya was talking about 'monster' and which hand they will take to a client who is quite likely to be Kuon, perhaps Kuon will do something to manipulate or trick Shizuo into 'taking his hand', if he considers Shizuo a monster since he hates humans, and then Izaya will return because no way the same type of person as him succeeded in making Shizuo taking his hand when he didn't (unless he planned it).
Haha. Hahahaha! I'm joking, it's a very unlikely possibility, considering Shizuo's personality and immediate dislike of Kuon. Still, it'd be interesting to see.
