Izaya hadn't slept well that night. His dreams were haunted by visions of Shizuo…
Shizuo with Saika's glowing red eyes.
Curling up into himself, Izaya sent out a text to Namie, telling her not to come in today. He couldn't think about work today… Not when more pressing matters were at hand.
Izaya showered at record speed, pulling his clothes on as quickly as possible as to avoid wasting any more time.
"Saika." he demanded, "Show yourself. Now."
"Oh…?" Saika's voice came from behind him. "So you want to see me now…?"
Izaya shuddered at the clarity of Saika's voice. It seemed that as the days passed, Saika was able to project himself and his voice with more and more ease.
"Yes. I want to have a serious discussion with you about all of this."
"Do you, now?"
Izaya hesitated slightly, his voice becoming a bit more desperate. "Yes. I want to know exactly what you're planning to do with this whole 'Slasher' thing. Please, tell me."
"And why would you want to know that…?"
"Because you seem to be targeting me specifically these past few weeks. I want to know why, and I want to know what you plan on doing with this army you've been building."
"Hmm… I guess I can tell you. It's too late to stop me anyway…"
Izaya let out a shaky breath. "Yes… I know it is…"
He couldn't deny that he was practically powerless against Saika at this point. But maybe, just maybe, if he could learn what Saika had planned, he might be able to find a way to stop it.
"Where should I begin…?" Saika said, tapping its finger on its chin.
"What are you planning on doing with the people you've possessed?" Izaya asked.
"Ah, yes… I am simply loving humans the way I want to love them. I'm sick of your twisted love… I want my own body. The more I cut, the stronger I get. And the more you fear my strength, the easier it becomes for me to weaken the hold your body has on my soul. In separating from you, I will be able to love humans the way I want to, and at this rate, I will control the entire city in just a few months… The only thing in my way right now is Anri, but I will find a way to deal with her once I'm stronger."
And then it clicked for Izaya. "I think I understand what's going on here."
"You do, huh?"
"Yes," Izaya began, "You kept a small piece of yourself out in the world to ensure your survival, but when Sonohara Anri found you, she was able to control you. Meaning that once you decided to separate from me, it was impossible. Anri wouldn't listen to your voice, and so once you gathered a bit more energy, you split from Anri's piece. I have to admit, that's clever considering I would have felt you split if you had done it directly through me. So you chose a weaker mind—Niekawa Haruna—who had been hurt by her love. She was weak enough to listen to your voice. So you're using her to cut for you and gain more power. Am I correct?"
"Yes. That is correct. Your perceptivity is astounding as usual."
"Wait, there's more. I get the feeling that Haruna's love might be too strong for you to control her completely. I read up on her. She truly is obsessed with Takashi. Is it possible that she is able to control you in her as well to some extent?"
"…"
"That's what I thought. Thank you Saika, you have given me enough information." Izaya said with a satisfied smile.
"What do you plan to do?" Saika asked.
"Oh don't worry, You'll find out soon enough…" Izaya said calmly, "And you can't stop me."
…~-~…
"Watch over her." The voice had said.
Niekawa Shuji followed the girl, doing as the voice commanded. He watched over her all day, not knowing exactly why, or what he was supposed to watch for. All he knew was that he had to listen to that voice.
That is, until a stronger voice commanded him to attack.
The girl stood at the end of an alleyway. He couldn't see what she was doing, but her back was turned to him. When she turned around, Shuji raised his weapon.
"Cut her." The voice commanded.
He ran at her, only to be stopped as a large object struck him.
"Did he die?" A female voice asked from above him.
"You're horrible, Kadota-san!" An enthusiastic voice said, "This is how you act right after saying you want to live in peace?"
"I had no other choice." Another person responded, "Either way it was self-defense."
Shuji took hold of his blade once again, and pulled himself off the ground, quickly slicing at the people who had tried to stop him from fulfilling his duties.
He managed to zero in on his target, and pushed his way past the ones who had interfered. He swung his blade around him as he charged towards the girl.
Just as he was sure his task would be complete, Shuji was suddenly hit again with enough force to send him flying back a ways, hitting the ground hard.
"The Headless Rider and… Shizuo?"
Shuji stood slowly, finding he couldn't feel any pain.
"Do-Dotachin! He's—"
"Are you some kind of monster?"
The voices continued, but Shuji ignored them all. The only thing he cared about was the one word…
"You're… Heiwajima Shizuo?" Shuji said, getting back on his feet. "I wanted to meet you, Shizuo… I love you very, very, very, very much, Shizuo."
"I get it." Shizuo said quietly. "I'm going to kill you."
The words coming out of his mouth were not his own, but in the back of his mind, Shuji remembered the reason why he had been wandering around Ikebukuro for so long. 'That's right… I'm going to interview Heiwajima Shizuo, the strongest…'
Shizuo grinned. "Kadota, I'm borrowing your door." He said, tearing the door of the van off to use as a shield. Then he ran forward.
'If I can write a good article, everything's bound to go well. My wife will come back. My relationship with my daughter will get better, too. It'll be like the good old days. Definitely.'
Then he fell unconscious.
…~-~…
"So what are we going to do about him?" Kadota asked.
"Let's start by calling an ambulance." Walker suggested.
But Shizuo wasn't paying attention. He couldn't get a single thought out of his mind.
"Something…" he said to himself out loud, taking a long drag of his cigarette, "…about this doesn't seem right. Why?"
He paused. Giving it a moment's thought before coming to a decision.
"I'm going to Shinjuku for a bit to kill Izaya." he said, turning around and heading for Izaya's place.
He just knew that the Flea had something to do with this. He wasn't sure what or why exactly, but he just knew.
…~-~…
The more Izaya thought about it, the more it made sense. He didn't do it for Saika. No, he would never intentionally help Saika unless it would help himself more.
But at the moment, protecting Sonohara Anri seemed to be the best thing to do…
At least for now.
Izaya contacted Takashi, giving him Anri's address as he had wanted from Izaya before. He also suggested that Takashi go to see her tonight. Of course, Takashi didn't even question Izaya's motives, and agreed that he wanted to see her.
Izaya and Saika both knew that Haruna would stop her attack in Takashi's presence, and so sending him was a sure-fire way of protecting Anri.
Of course, Izaya and Saika both had different reasons for wanting this outcome.
Saika only wanted his other piece safe from being killed by Haruna.
Izaya on the other hand planned farther ahead than that. In protecting Anri, Izaya would ensure that the only other piece of the original Saika that was out in the world was one that could be controlled by its host. Not only that, but Izaya knew from his research that Anri seemed to only want to live a peaceful life, meaning that she would never use Saika for her own gain like Haruna.
Anri would want to stop Haruna, and she definitely had the power to do it. This would ensure that there wouldn't be any new children of Saika running around in the near future, and it would also prevent Saika from getting any stronger as long as it didn't try to branch out again.
After his conversation with Takashi, Izaya quickly stepped out of his apartment to a nearby vending machine where he bought himself a soda. He was beginning to feel a bit tired, and decided that he could use a caffeine boost quicker than it took to brew coffee.
And so, he stood in the first floor lobby, sipping at his soda. He debated going for a short walk. He could use some fresh air.
"Izzzzaaaayyyyaaaaaa-kuuuuuuun"
Oh, goodie.
…~-~…
Basically, Saika has a Voldemort thing going on. XD
Thank you all for reading! Sorry this was a day late. I've been slowing down in my writing for this story, and I'm kind of trying to buy some more time so I can catch up to it.