It was when Tom was thinking back to the incident that he had a sudden epiphany.

"It's strange, but I guess you're one of those rare people who can be happy in unrequited love."

Tom said as he smiled fondly at the smiling Shizuo.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Remember that woman who approached you a week ago? Even she could see how you were happy with your love, even if it's one-sided, that's why I think she was glad too."

Tom spoke to his kouhai as they walked along, waving his hand with a smile.

"Well, Izaya was always the one who took away your peace and made you angry, and now he's the one making you feel so peaceful. Kind of ironic, huh? I mean, you aren't even pissed off at being tricked by him anymore."

Tom spoke this comfortably with no hesitation, as having spent time with the new peaceful Shizuo who was in love, he was certain that even past reminders of Izaya pissing him off wouldn't set Shizuo off.

Indeed, even though his smile had faltered, Shizuo only tilted his head as if he was thinking, before his smile widened slowly, as if in progression with his thoughts.

"I'm not sure why I'm not pissed off. But I think it's kind of cute. It's just like the flea. Izaya's so socially awkward it isn't surprising for him to do something like this. That means he acknowledges he's important to me, right? Isn't that good? He doesn't even know how to reject me properly."

Shizuo was smiling as he said this, as if he thought being tricked by Izaya was something to be happy about.

"I…see…"

- I guess love really changes people.

- Love really is blind**

As Tom had that thought, Shizuo's phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and flipped it open, staring at the unknown number.

"Who the hell is this?"

Shizuo spoke to himself and Tom looked at him. He blinked at the smile on the blond man's face.

"Maybe it's Izaya."

There was irrational hope in the irrational man's voice. Tom just shook his head, a fond smile on his lips.

- Yup…he's definitely in love.

Vorona said nothing, but her lips were curved at the sight of Shizuo's hopeful smile.

"Tom-san, can I?"

"Sure, go ahead."

With those words of permission, Shizuo pressed a button and held the phone to his ear.

"Izaya?"

"Guess again, Heiwajima Shizuo."

"…..You're another one of Izaya's goons, aren't you?"

Shizuo spoke calmly. The smile was slipping away from his face.

"Goons? Hahahahaha! Oh don't make me laugh, to even dare to suggest we're below that filthy information broker-"

"What do you want?"

It seemed being in love had really made Shizuo more calm, had it been him in the past, his patience would have snapped by now.

"I want you to hear this."

Before Shizuo could say anything, a familiar voice pierced the silence –

"Shizu-chan!"

There was fear in Izaya's voice. Shizuo stiffened.

"Izaya?"

"Shizu-chan-AH!"

"Izaya!"

"No…it hurts…stop it please!"

Shizuo felt his blood run cold. He slammed his fist, creating a crater in the wall nearby, his hoarse voice leaving his throat in a roar –

"THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO HIM YOU FUCKING BASTARDS – WAIT TILL I FIND YOU, I'M GOING TO RIP YOU LIMB FROM FUCKING LIMB – "

"Then you better do that before we're done with him, hm? Even though he's a filthy informant, his cries are so lovely –"

"HOW DARE YOU– "

"Because don't you know? We're in the sex trade. And his body is really gorgeous, it'll be worth a huge sum of money."

"No! Don't touch me- I won't do anything like that again, I-ugh!"

"SHUT UP! You screwed up our business so it's time for us to screw you for good, eh? Hey, gag his pretty little mouth."

"S-Shizu-cha- M-Mphf!"

"Well I didn't mean it that way, but whatever. Hey, how good is he at sucking dick? With his pretty little mouth, he should be quite good at it, right? I wonder if he's a virgin, he certainly acts as if he's never been touched before. Well, we'll find out when we fuck him anyway. What do you think, Heiwajima Shizuo?"

"I am going to fucking kill you."

Shizuo said, his voice deadly calm.

His eyes flashed.

"SO BEFORE I FUCKING KILL YOU, TELL ME WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT AND WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU – I SWEAR IF YOU DO TO HIM WHAT I'M THINKING YOU'RE DOING, I'LL HUNT EVERY LAST OF YOU FUCKING BASTARDS DOWN AND MAKE YOU REGRET EVER SEEING HIS FACE!"

"Shizuo…"

Tom held out a hand in an attempt to calm his enraged kouhai, but Shizuo glared at him so hard his hand froze.

It was as if Shizuo did not recognize him. All traces of peace and calm was gone from his face, his features were twisted, his brown eyes wide with fury, his lips curled into a dangerous snarl –

He looked like a true monster.

"Haha! Looks like the rumors are true! You really are in love with him. Disgusting. Anyway how would you do that when you don't know where we are? Oh but don't worry, we do have some unfinished business with you, so we'll message you the address. You better come quick, and don't even think of bringing anyone with you."

"BRING ANYONE? DON'T MAKE ME FUCKING LAUGH! WHY WOULD I BRING SOMEONE WHEN I'M GOING TO TEAR YOU APART – WHY WOULD I WANT WITNESSES TO THAT?"

There was an insane grin on the monster's face, his teeth flashing as if he wanted to tear the humans apart with his teeth alone.

- THEY ARE GOING TO DIE

- WHEN

- I

- F I N D

- T H E M

T H E Y

A R E

G O ING T O FUCK I N G

D I E

F OR T OU CHI N G

HURT ING

W H A T

I S

M I N E

The monster slammed the human device shut so hard the force cracked the screen.

Not that he was aware of that, all he was aware of was the anger consuming his mind, and how he had to resist the urge to break the phone – as he waited with anger raging in his system.

When the device vibrated he flipped it open, looking past the cracks on the screen.

"…Tom…-san…"

Shizuo spoke slowly, as if he was trying to control his anger.

"They...have Izaya. Bastards really have him this time….his voice….…I heard it….…."

The pause between Shizuo's words was getting longer and longer as he spoke, as if the anger was getting greater and greater and harder and harder to control.

"…..I understand. Just don't do anything you regret, okay?"

Tom advised, withdrawing his arm that had frozen in mid-air.

"Does Shizuo-sempai require an accomplice? If so, I volunteer."

"It's fine."

Shizuo said calmly as he thought up gruesome images of what he was going to do to the men whom had dared touch what was his.

He turned to smile at her, and she was almost taken aback by the bloodlust and killing intent raging in a vicious storm in his eyes.

"It's not going to be pretty…..I'm going to do some pretty bad things I don't want you to see, so I'll go alone."

All Vorona could do was nod, for even though Shizuo was speaking calmly and gently to her, it was an eerie mismatch between the desire to kill in his eyes.

And as she looked at him – as she whom had killed many looked at the man before her, she thought –

This is a man who can kill without any mercy

This man before me can murder in cold blood

….Is this fear?

Vorona had never feared Heiwajima Shizuo, not even when he had thrown her motorbike at her. She had been shocked when he had kicked a car towards her, but if anything, she had felt admiration and envy of his strength.

But being a person of her occupation, Vorona knew

Only the most deadly killers could speak calmly when they were going to kill someone in cold blood.

-And for Heiwajima Shizuo, he didn't need a weapon

-He would literally rip them apart.

For the first time since seeing Heiwajima Shizuo's inhuman strength, Vorona did not feel excitement and pleasure –

She felt what seemed to be fear.

At the monster before her.

"….Sorry. But I really am angry right now…."

Shizuo spoke as if he knew Vorona was afraid of him at the moment.

"….So, I have to go…."

"Go on…..go and save the one you love."

Though Tom's words were encouraging, the look in his eyes was almost wary –

As if it was an ingrained instinct in a human like him to fear a monster.

"…Ah….."

As Shizuo said this, he managed a smile at Tom and reached out to pat Vorona's hair with a gentle hand, as if to reassure her he would not hurt her despite how angry he was.

"Sorry Vorona….I never wanted you to see me like this."

Shizuo told his first kouhai apologetically.

Vorona did not flinch at Shizuo's touch. She blinked up at him as his hand was on her hair.

"Shizuo-sempai is kind….apologies are unnecessary…."

As if in her own form of comfort, the blonde assassin raised her hand to Shizuo's hand on her hair, touching briefly someone without the intention to kill, in a reassuring touch, before she put her hand down by her side as she looked at Shizuo and told him:

"Time is of the essence, Shizuo-sempai."

Shizuo felt a little warmth in his heart at the touch of someone even when he was angry and they were afraid of him. Even if it wasn't Izaya, it meant that they cared for him enough to go against their fear.

But the anger was still there- and he knew it would never go away until he ripped those bastards –

"Yeah….thanks, Vorona."

Vorona nodded as he removed his hand from her hair. She and Tom watched as Shizuo turned.

"How are you going to get there?"

"Run."

Shizuo replied simply to the curious Tom.

"And….Tom-san?"

"Yeah?"

"If I hurt them too bad….please take me to the police station…I'm ready to be arrested for the crime of murder….and please apologize to the Boss on my behalf."

Shizuo said, saying similar words to that time when Akane had told him Izaya had told her he was an assassin. Ironically, the person he was going to murder was not Izaya.

"….I'm sure that won't be necessary, Shizuo…."

Shizuo said nothing. There was no smile on his face as there was no little girl to reassure.

Tom thought a silent Shizuo was even more frightening than a raging or falsely smiling one.

Shizuo turned his head a little, and the look on his face was one of unnatural calm –

And then he was gone, sprinting away past and through the crowd. As he jumped onto a vending machine, his foot kicking off the ground with abnormal strength, his phone was suddenly in his hand and he was staring –

A look of absolute, terrifying rage took over the monster's face –

As if he could show his true emotions now that he was away from his friends –

But his friends had still been staring after him and had seen it.

Tom was suddenly glad he was not Shizuo's next victim.

And Vorona was relieved he had not intended to kill her that day, he had only intended to rescue Awakusu Akane.

And then they could not really see his expression anymore, Shizuo moved so fast he was suddenly at a third storey window –

Up and up and up Shizuo seemed to climb. How – Tom did not know. He only knew one moment Shizuo's foot was at a window frame and the next he was leaping again, his one arm reaching out to a railing on the tall building, his phone still in his other hand as he used his superhuman strength to pull himself up with one arm, not even landing on the railing but jumping over it and onto the building itself.

Vorona knew, having to be experienced in the art of swiftness and agility due to her occupation, but she did not know how one could move that fast, jump across long distances as if he was flying -

She had seen it that day – seen the man in a bartender suit suddenly in front of her and grabbing her rifle and bending it in half, but she had not actually seen how he had done it – how he had gotten in her face before she could even realize.

Was there anything Heiwajima Shizuo could not do?

- How is that…even possible?

- Someone like that…can't be human. He's a monster.

Vorona now understood why Orihara Izaya called Heiwajima Shizuo a monster –

Everything he did was inhuman.

…

Gliding between buildings –

Running on the railing –

Leaping from lamppost to lamppost –

Using two buildings metres apart as surfaces for him to jump off from to reach that impossible height –

As Shizuo did all this, his phone was still clutched tightly in his hand, as if it was the only thing that was keeping him sane –

Tom had seen Shizuo do parkour before – when he was chasing Izaya. But at those times, all he could see was Shizuo chasing Izaya as Izaya escaped from him – he hadn't really considered how Shizuo could keep up with Izaya who was clearly skilled in parkour -

It was only then that he knew the reason –

Shizuo was just as skilled as Izaya at parkour, possibly maybe even better –

No, not so much better as more capable – with his superhuman strength, he could perform feats of parkour even Izaya would find trouble doing.

For even as the next building seemed to be too far away for even Shizuo, there was a telephone pole between the two buildings. Shizuo let himself fall, and Tom reached out a hand automatically –

But Shizuo was already reaching out his free hand to grab the wire. As his feet kicked off the telephone pole, he swung himself as if the wire was a vine in a jungle, and then he was flying, suspended in free air –

Tom thought for one moment he was going to fall as he had missed the next telephone pole, but Shizuo's hand reached out to cling onto a signboard, and one of his foot slipped –

As if onto an invisible spring when in reality he was only using the surface of the signboard as leverage, for the next moment the man in a bartender suit was shooting up several metres. His feet kicked off the surface of the building, and the impact brought him higher and higher and higher – as his hand shot out to grab the edge of the building that had to be at least fifty metres tall, using the strength of his one free hand to force his body up again, soaring up into the air and landing several metres away from the edge of the building.

"…"

Tom wouldn't be surprised if Shizuo could climb the 240 metre tall Sunshine 60 skyscraper. Especially if Izaya was on top of it. He would be more surprised at how Izaya could get up there in the first place.

But Shizuo didn't even chase Izaya now, so Izaya might have to try a different tactic. He could almost imagine it- Izaya wanting to see how monstrous Shizuo was. Maybe he would tell Shizuo he would date or even marry him if he could cross the 240 metres in one minute –

Shizuo would do it in thirty seconds –

And then demand Izaya date and marry him.

It would be an easier method for Shizuo than going to Izaya and asking him out.

As he was thinking this, Tom was unaware Shizuo had already climbed the 240 metre tall Sunshine 60 skyscraper to reach the skydeck on its rooftop, all for the simple goal of escaping the Awakusu-kai –

Who thought Shizuo had killed three of their men, when in reality it was merely Izaya who had framed Shizuo.

Had Tom been aware of this, he would have laughed at the irony of the situation.

But he was unaware and thus Tom shook his head at his own thoughts and turned himself back to reality.

Shizuo did not even stumble from performing such an impossible feat. Once his feet landed on the ground of the building, he dashed off again.

Shizuo who had learned parkour from chasing Izaya, was now using the skills he seemed to have unconsciously learnt to save the one who had caused him to teach himself how to jump and fly –

And run. And run, and run and run. Never stop running. Run as if he was as free as the wind blowing against their faces, as if nothing in the world could stop him.

There was only one thing Tom could say in awe of Shizuo's display of parkour.

"Messing with Heiwajima Shizuo and his love…..those guys really have a death wish, don't they?"

…

…

Same time, in an apartment in Shinjuku

...

...

"Haha! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"STOP LAUGHING, YOU BASTARD! DID YOU HEAR HOW ANGRY HE WAS?!"

"OF COURSE I DID! HAHAHAHA! OH MY GOODNESS HE REALLY BELIEVED IT!"

"IF HE KILLS US I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! MAYBE WE SHOULD GO TO WHERE YOU ARE AND DRAG YOUR BODY HERE, FILTHY INFORMANT!"

"If you do that he really will be mad! He's not just going to kill you, he's going to rip you apart like a piece of paper! And then he's going to make human origami out of you!"

"WHY YOU –"

"Calm down! Maybe you'll be lucky and once he sees you don't actually have the one he loves, he'll calm down and won't hurt you too badly…maybe. Shizu-chan's unpredictable after all!"

"IF WE DIE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"Haha! How can you kill me if you're already dead? HAHAHAHA!"

"YOU –"

"Stop it! This is no time to quarrel – Heiwajima Shizuo will be here soon! We better get ready!"

"But-"

"Even that monster can't resist the strongest dose of what we have, right? He's still human after all!"

"…Tch! Watch out Orihara Izaya, even though it was acting, if you can sound like a whore even when you're not being fucked, you really would be a good deal in our trade."

"Hahaha! Good luck with that, it seems I have a monster bodyguard now! He won't let anyone touch my gorgeous body!"

"B-Boss!"

"W-What is it?! Is Heiwajima Shizuo here?!"

"No! But, we should prepare what we need! I don't want to die!"

"Fine!"

The call ended, and Heiwajima Shizuo's love threw his head back and roared his laughter to the air –

As hours ago he had told the gullible men Heiwajima Shizuo would be a treasure in the sex trade –

And he would help them, with all the kindness and generosity in his heart –

Which hated Heiwajima Shizuo with the burning passion of a thousand suns.

"Are you done with whatever disgusting thing you were doing just now?"

An icy female voice entered the scene.

"Before you think I was roleplaying with myself, let me tell you what I was doing is going to get Shizu-chan into some big trouble."

Izaya grinned widely, his limbs trembling in anticipation -

"Oh I can't wait! I really can't wait! I wish I could be there to see it! Who knew conference calls could be so useful?!"

"…You know there's a reason why even dirty men like those are afraid of Heiwajima Shizuo, right?"

"Awww, does Namie care? I'm touched! Haha! What can Shizu-chan do to me? I'm the one he loves after all! He'd be a real monster if he hurts the one he loves!"

"….Your cruelty knows no bounds. I almost pity the man."

"Haha! Anyway, once they've drugged Shizu-chan, they'll call me and I'll be there, and when Shizu-chan wakes up, I'll tell him what the one he loves did to him."

"What if your plan doesn't work? What if Heiwajima Shizuo is too strong for them?"

"I'll just meet Shizu-chan normally then! Whatever the results, he will still know I was the man who orchestrated all this, and then he'll be mad. And that disgusting love of his will be gone! How can he love a man who tried to sell him away to the sex trade?!"

"….Whatever."

"Such a heartless woman you are, Namie! I just mentioned the words, 'sex trade' you know?"

"I don't really care, since Seiji isn't involved. And I'm not involved either, so I can be there to protect Seiji."

"…..You really have a one sided mind when it comes to your love for Seiji-kun, eh?"

"Says the one who has a one sided mind when it comes to his love for Heiwajima Shizuo."

"I don't love him. Would I sell the one I love away?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It sounds like your type of love."

"Haha! Ah, Namie knows me so well. But really…"

Izaya's eyes glinted at Namie warningly.

"It isn't love. So please don't use that word anymore with that monster, okay?"

Namie looked at him with stoic eyes, then shrugged and turned back to the documents on the table.

"Whatever you say, Izaya."

.

.

.

Chapter 5 END

…

…

…

**Koi wa moumoku (恋は本当に盲目) - Love is blind

Author's Note

To clarify, this is the second part, part II. This is a double update.

Originally I had planned to leave it off at the first part. But then considering my decision to discontinue this story I thought I'd just finish writing it, leave off nicely at least.

Sorry if this is sudden, but I'm discontinuing this story. The reason is explained on my tumblr, link on my profile. Name's zephyrsus.

People have messaged me encouraging me not to, but I don't feel as if I can continue it like I did before.

So It Just Happened is discontinued - until further notice.

Don't get your hopes up though, 'further notice' will not be anytime soon, a few years later for all I know. I'm just putting it out there in case I randomly get inspiration though that is highly unlikely as I still have other stories I want to write and am more interested in. Like The Butterfly Effect and Lies and Truth, they're what I'm focused on right now especially The Butterfly Effect.

Sorry I know this is selfish of me. All I can do is apologize I guess. This double update is also my form of apology. I really really appreciate all the comments and discussions and reviews I've had in the progress of writing this story they made me happy and they have really made me think.

Sorry to the anons too who want to discuss my theories further or just ask me questions...but this isn't the only place. If you have questions you can just direct them to the ask box on tumblr as I said in the previous part. If they're too long you can just send me fanmail lol that has no word limit. I'll be glad to reply :)

And, it's taking a whole lot of my courage to do this, but I've decided to finally post it here.

So here it is, my last theory for this story.

Izaya is in love with Shizuo in canon theory

SPOILER Warning for Vol 8 - 13 (especially 13)

(This turned out to be really long, sorry about that. It includes my theories about Izaya's feelings for Shizuo in canon)

I agree with people who think they're a 'pair', Narita did say he created Shizuo for Izaya, he didn't want Izaya to be the unbeatable villain so 'and that's how Shizuo was born'. So if there was no Izaya, there literally would be no Shizuo.

But I don't take the 'they secretly like each other' route, I think they're canon in being one of the twisted relationships Narita describes in his narration. However I don't see their canon relationship as nothing more than hatred either, they pay too much attention to each other to be just regular hatred. Especially Izaya to Shizuo and how Shizuo is the only one who can affect him.

In fact I think Izaya is in love with Shizuo. I have my reasons for this and they are super long. It just struck me after the last volume. He is not 'secretly in love' with Shizuo. He is in love, he knows it, and he hates it because he hates the effect Shizuo has on his usually controlled being.

Izaya's character trademark is his love for humanity – no, his unrequited love for humanity. Yet, though humanity doesn't love him back, he's not hurt or affected. And doesn't this quite not make sense? Unrequited love is always painful. But perhaps Shinra can explain better :

…

"He might seem cold-blooded, but he's more human and his heart more brittle than anyone else. So much so that if you filled it with human love or betrayal, it'd break easily. Which is why, I think, he chose from the start to avoid it all, to love humanity. You understand? Not to accept, not to face it. To avoid it. It's something like how a windsock flies. On first sight mouth wide open, like he's smiling and accepting everything, with a huge capacity... But in reality it's a cylinder with no bottom. That's why any amount can go through the mouth. And he can love anything."

-Kishitani Shinra, Durarara Volume 13

…

Izaya can love anything and anyone, except Shizuo. Shinra says:

…

'Which is why, I think, he chose from the start to avoid it all, to love humanity. You understand? Not to accept, not to face it. To avoid it.'

…

So Shinra's theory is that Izaya loves humanity because he doesn't want his fragile heart to break with things like friendship or romantic love. He says that Izaya is avoiding it, avoiding the things he doesn't want to deal with, this might be why Simon called him a coward.

Izaya loves humanity, but rather than really loving purely, it's more of a form of wide acceptance. He's just decided to accept everything and because he can accept everything, all the dark parts of humanity, he isn't affected. That's where he gets his control from.

But Izaya can't love Shizuo. He can't love Shizuo as a human. "Shizu-chan is a monster, that's why I can't love him. I love only humans. That's why I hate him." Izaya always says this.

But is Shizuo really a monster? No. He is clearly human, Narita himself says his strength comes from being born without the natural limiter of the human body. If anything, Shizuo is the most human of all humans. He's making use of the full potential of the human body. If anything, rather than hating him, Izaya, who loves humans for their potential and becuase they 'suprass his expectations', should love him the most of all humans.

Narita starts to show Shizuo's humanity from volume 5 onwards. Vorona herself confirms this, when she compares the Headless Rider and Anri with Shizuo, that Shizuo is undoubtedly human. Which is why she is so depressed at having lost so badly, she can accept losing to something not human, but Shizuo is clearly human.

Why am I mentioning Vorona? Because she confirmed Shizuo's humanity at the pivotal moment.

I believe Shizuo would have killed Izaya in Volume 13 if Vorona hadn't stopped him. It was said he decided to abandon his humanity – at that moment, he became a true monster.

And that's what Izaya wants. Because Shizuo is finally becoming the monster he wanted him to be.

Izaya said he wanted to kill Shizuo. That's true. But that's not all. That's not Izaya's only plan. In volume 13, Izaya had two plans. To kill Shizuo or be killed by Shizuo. As someone aptly put –

…

Izaya has two options, either he proves Shizuo is a monster or Shizuo isn't a monster from the start and so he has to love him as a claiming human lover.

…

We all know Orihara Izaya is a very logical man. So it's very unnatural of him to seriously try to kill Shizuo –

…

"He's a guy to smile as he ruins people, but he doesn't use violence to destroy them directly. Because of what he says about loving humans and such. So it's probably the first time he's giving his all to kill someone."

- Sharaku Mikage, Durarara Volume 13

…

When he knows Shizuo is indestructible. Consider the situation prior. Izaya was stabbed and in the hospital. No one came to visit him. He expected Shizuo to come see him to kill him, and he even smiles while imagining it, quite fondly if you ask me. But Shizuo didn't come. No one came. Izaya gets out of the hospital. His first appearance after he was stabbed in volume 6 –

…

"Seems like I can solve the conflict using Awakusu-kai. Now just how should I do this."
He put on a frivolous summer coat and continued talking to himself.
"Though, that Russian's daughter has become Shizu-chan's subordinate."
Covering his anxious feelings, the coated man slowly left.
"After all, humans are so interesting."
The man smiled coldly and happily skipped along an empty road.
Very, very happily.
He was skipping like a kid rushing towards an excursion bus.

-Durarara Volume 8

…

–He's seen talking about Shizuo. And Vorona. And later on –

…

"I heard that Mikado-kun has changed…. but how has he actually grown, I'll watch with anticipation."

The man smiles, his phone suddenly rang out with electro-acoustics.
"Yeah, what's up?"
Though the man greets the phone with a happy sound, but –
Suddenly, the happy expression is removed, and he's only left with the corners of this mouth pulled in a reluctant smile.
"Ah, Shizu-chan and Kida huh…?"
"You're still managing a feeble existence, Shizu-chan!"

- Durarara Volume 8

…

I find it interesting how he's returning to his usual self, loving humans and considering them interesting. And both times, Shizuo comes to mind, and he's abruptly affected – 'anxious feelings', 'reluctant smile', 'smiled coldly'. And both times, it's when he thinks of Shizuo having more people around him (perhaps comparing to when he was all alone in the hospital). It's half envy of Shizuo and half hurt. Envious because Shizuo has people who care about him and hurt because Shizuo is just going on as always.

And just before their death match –

…

"Iya, Shizu-chan. Even this method doesn't kill you, ne? Incredible, you're really a monster. It's delirious, to think that you could even protect humans in that state."

"I've probably said this before, but do you really thinking helping humans is going to make them love you? Aah, or do you have some special feelings towards that Vorona girl? Originally, I thought you were a lolicon who'd become infatuated with the little lady of the Awakusu-kai."

"Ah, right. You don't care what's going to happen to Celty anymore? That Kujiraki woman that you just spared… want me to tell you what an evil person she is?"
Izaya's tone is filled with mockery and glee, but all this while Shizuo has said absolutely nothing. He climbs the stairs of the building wordlessly, and stops when he reaches about midway. He then opens his mouth.
"Izaya."
Unable to hear any anger in Shizuo's tone, Izaya answers.
"… What is it?"
In a calm, nearly peaceful tone, Shizuo replies:
"… Goodbye." (**He says 'abayo', a cultural version of 'sayonara', which in the Japanese has the effect of saying 'goodbye forever.' )

With only this said, Shizuo ends the call.
"Ahh… goodbye."

-Durarara Volume 12

…

The first thing he says to Shizuo (after not seeing him since forever, since the time Shizuo confronted him in front of his apartment – all the way back in the anime season, Volume 2) is about love. The second thing he says is how he's gotten close to Vorona and Akane, and he mentions Celty and even Kujiraki (all the girls Shizuo is close with, he never mentioned Kida even though he was affected by their interaction). It might be far fetched, but Izaya may be just jealous of the attention Shizuo is showing others (girls) and not him (Namie even wonders at the extent Izaya goes to, the 'roundabout way' to kill Shizuo – when he could have just poisoned him)

Of course Izaya's intention is to piss Shizuo off with talking about the people Shizuo cares about (since he just tried to kill Shizuo and Vorona saved him, leaving her badly injured and Shizuo furious) –

So that Shizuo will seriously kill him. Because the third thing to note is that Izaya said "Goodbye" after Shizuo hung up. As if he knew he was going to die by Shizuo's hand.

But Izaya won't go down without a fight, and so he seriously tries to kill Shizuo. He's truly angry, because he's reached the limit of being affected by Shizuo, and perhaps being ignored. With the theory in mind, he doesn't want to deal with his unrequited love for Shizuo any longer, he's at the limits of his denial. So he wants to kill Shizuo, and end it once and for all.

But logically and realistically, he knows he can't. And here comes his plan B. His contingency plan, which is in fact his real intention, is to make Shizuo kill him –

…

"Orihara Izaya… The guy in black, he can't stand how human Heiwajima Shizuo is. That's why he wants to look down on him as no more than a monster. He's fine so long as he can make it such that no matter how much the other guy yearns to be human, humanity will reject him."

- Kuronoma Aoba, Durarara Volume 13

…

So that, just as Aoba who claims to be similar to Izaya says, Shizuo will become a true monster and Izaya doesn't have to love him (because Izaya loves only humans). Shizuo killing Izaya would make him a true monster. It could be Izaya wants to make humanity reject Shizuo, because Shizuo rejected him and he wants his revenge.

…

"...do it, monster."

- Orihara Izaya, Durarara Volume 13

…

And Izaya would have succeeded, if it were not for Vorona –

…

"Vorona…?"
Shizuo turned, slowly to look at Vorona; in his eyes, mixed with his rage towards Izaya, was a sense of bewilderment.
Looking between Shizuo, and Izaya, who had fallen to his knees -
Vorona said, evenly, to Shizuo:
"Shizuo-senpai - is human."
It was not that she knew of Izaya's thoughts.
But by simple coincidence, her words were a rejection of Izaya's thoughts.
"The need to become a beast - is nil."

-Durarara Volume 13

…

Vorona says the truth Izaya has refused to acknowledge – that Shizuo is human. She stops Shizuo from killing Izaya, wanting to kill him instead, giving Simon and Celty the time to intervene so that Izaya can get away and he lives. So Shizuo doesn't kill Izaya, Shizuo is not a monster.

…

-To think… Such a stupid end.
As he saw Vorona point the gun at him, Izaya felt a great disappointment.
But he smiled, somewhat as if he had given up, and looked straight at Vorona.
-It's all right; I'll allow this. Because I love humanity.
"...you're human. As human as anyone anywhere."

-Durarara Volume 13

…

And Izaya is disappointed. Because he had wanted to die by Shizuo's hand, so he could finally prove once and for all, that Shizuo is a monster to his humans (so that they will reject him just like how Shizuo rejected him) but most importantly, to himself, so that he can convince himself he is not in love with Shizuo because he loves only humans.

But his last plan fails, and he has no choice but to give up. I have my own theory on how Vorona is a reflection of Izaya, for starters how they both have twisted notions of humanity and how they're both intelligent but child-like and of course, how their perceptions of humans are changed by Shizuo, the most human man – for Vorona, humans' fragility, and Izaya, his love for humans. So Izaya's last words could be subconsciously to himself – he's finally admitting he's not a god but human because he can love; Shizuo (who remains human because he didn't kill Izaya) Izaya is, as described, finally given up on his denial –

…

"Don't misunderstand; I just wanted to see you to your death without interruptions."
The girl looked at him through the mirror, with obvious hatred and contempt.
"If you died here, I would say, 'You were killed by Heiwajima Shizuo. Serves you right.' If you survived thanks to that Shadow, I would say, 'You're living so freely thanks to the Headless Rider. Serves you right.'
"...Haha… Don't say… such hateful things."
"I heard a lot from Kishitani-sensei just now. About what you might hate."
"Damn… him…"
He smiled bitterly as he heaved a deep sigh, and with glassy eyes, he looked up at the pitch-black sky through the window.
Izaya fell silent, and Kine asked:
"What now? Would it be more convenient to leave you at the A & E nearby, or at an underground doctor I have connections with?"
And Izaya, glaring at the Shadow spread over Ikebukuro's sky, said, ignoring his own state of near-death:
"Ahh… First would be to get out of this city… Go somewhere far, if possible…"

"Because I would rather die… than be seen by a monster."

- Durarara Volume 13 Epilogue

…

Going back to Shinra's quote about Izaya – Izaya never denied it. In fact, he's bitter about it, as if he knows it's true. Take this into context and we could say it's because he failed to prove Shizuo was a monster for the last time and so he has to admit he's in love with him. He's given up on denial. He's in love, and he hates it, hates the effect Shizuo has on him, hates being in unrequited love with Shizuo who hates him enough to kill him. Because being in unrequited love makes him suffer, makes him hurt, he's tried for the last time to avoid it, but he can't. Being in love with Shizuo makes, as Shinra said, his brittle heart break. And perhaps Manami who wants to kill Izaya sees this, maybe not that Izaya is in love, but that Izaya would suffer more being alive than dead (I thought I wrote this in here but I didn't, but refer to how Shinra said Izaya would hate suffering the most, so it could be the reason why he hates Shizuo the most is because Shizuo makes him suffer the most in unrequited love). And that's why she has no qualms letting him live.

…

"Because I would rather die… than be seen by a monster."

- Orihara Izaya, Durarara Volume 13

…

Izaya's last line wraps it all up. He might be in love with Shizuo but he still has his pride and he doesn't want Shizuo to see him in such a pathetic state. He would rather die, when he's afraid of death. It seems he fears being in love more than he fears death.

To end, I think the beginning and ending lines of the last novel are especially interesting –

The twisted love story closes its curtains.

This is a twisted story.
A twisted love story.
With the neigh of an urban legend,
with the tears of a boy,
with the return of the ordinary,
with the disappearance of the mastermind,
and with the hints of a new story beginning -
the story of twisted love now closes its curtains.

For their love is no longer twisted.

-
With my theory, I think the last line is referring to Izaya (and maybe Shizuo, since their, unless 'their' is a gender neutral pronoun). This I'm still not too sure, but I can say that the last volume is all about Shizuo and Izaya (it starts off to when after Izaya first met Shizuo and is annoyed and affected), and their pasts, and Shinra's comment about Izaya's heart, and their death match. Rather than Shizuo, it's all about Izaya. So the line 'The twisted love story closes its curtains' is very interesting to me. Especially because the mastermind has disappeared, both figuratively and literally. Izaya admits he's in love, and that he's human and not a god, and leaves the city of Ikebukuro alone. And so the twisted love story finally closes its curtains.

I think Izaya may have become a villain to 'keep' Shizuo (see what Shinra said to Shizuo, in analysis for vol 13). As for why he honestly tries to kill Shizuo in volume 13 (and not in those eight years they've known each other) it's because Shizuo has people around him, friends (not like before), so Izaya is no longer anyone special. I think I mentioned this somewhere too...in the 'which hand will the monster take' theory. Izaya realizes Shizuo really doesn't give a damn 'bout him and that's when he can't deny his feelings of hurt and suffering and in revenge he ruins Shizuo's peace for the last time and aims to kill him, make him become a monster so he doesn't have to love Shizuo. Shinra said to Manami Izaya would hate pain or heat or suffering the most, and so Izaya hates Shizuo the most because he makes him suffer in his loneliness and unrequited love. Shinra also said something about envy with the same nature as love, which could be alluding to Izaya (there was an explicit description of Izaya looking down from the crane tower and admitting to himself he's envious of Shizuo).

So that's my take on Shizaya in canon. Well not really Shizaya, but yeah. Sorry it turned out longer than I expected. You can think I'm thinking too much or reading into it too much, but it's my point of view. It's my theory. I have other theories to support this theory, including how I mentioned briefly Shizuo is Izaya's 'monster' just as Celty is Shinra's, 'monster' because both Shizuo and Celty are considered as monsters and Izaya and Shinra are unusual but still human. Well I'm happy if you actually read to the end anyway.

So that's it. To emphasize, this is a theory, so I want people to know I'm not forcing my opinion on anyone. I say this because in the last fandom where I constructed theories I was flamed for theorizing a pairing was 'canon' and I don't want such a misunderstanding again. This is just a theory, which means it's my interpretation, you're free to agree or disagree. I just decided to post it since people have told me they like my analyses when I thought it bothered people. I wrote this long ago but only recently got the courage to post it.

Right, so I guess this is the end haha. For this story anyway. I'll see some of you in my other stories I hope. Thank you for reading until this far! Even though it's to be left uncompleted until further notice, I hope you enjoyed the story all the same. :)

Thank you for your time.