Witchblade? Heard the name in passing, but I've never seen it. Name sounds interesting though. Anyway, I haven't done a disclaimer since the third chapter or so, so here it is. Any character you're never heard of in Durarara!, including this here plot, is mine. Otherwise everything else belongs to Ryohgo Narita.
"Why were you morons laughing? Aren't you supposed to be in shock when you hear your little sister possibly slept with someone?"
"We assumed that you were trying to by funny," Kichiro said while folding his arms behind his head
"But when you said you kissed him in all seriousness, we were shocked," Colm finished, folding his arms across his chest.
"Yeah, well I didn't sleep with him. You know…in that way. I just slept next to him. Let that be a load off your minds," I said, hooking my arms around Colm's and Kichiro's as we walked towards the train station. "Why are you so interested in my personal life anyway? I don't ask about yours."
"You wouldn't want to ask him about his anyway. It's a string of one night stands and booty calls. Don't you ever get tired of endless women and just want to be with one?" Colm asked, reprimanding Kichiro.
"You don't think I'm tired of it? I haven't slept with anyone in the last two weeks because all those girls are the same," Kichiro said defensively. Suddenly I felt like I was in the middle of something: two arguing twins, a position I hated to be in.
"Then why don't you go out with Misa-san? I know you like her," Colm argued.
'If this is my punishment for teasing Shizuo, I just want to say I'm really sorry and will take any situation that isn't this!' I thought desperately, looking around for something to distract them.
"You think I haven't tried? Every time I try talking to her, she calls me a man-whore!" complained Kichiro.
"Amai-chan!" Who was that?
"Can't blame her," Colm muttered, looking away innocently when Kichiro glared at him.
"Amai-chan! Over here!" Was that Shinra?
"I don't want to hear that from someone who's still a virgin!" shouted Kichiro, pulling me to a halt, causing Colm to stop too.
"Amai-chan! It's me! Shinra! I'm here with Celty!" he shouted, hopping up and down while waving his arms, trying to get the attention I had already given him. I watched with wide eyes as Celty and him approached us. Several people on the sidewalk gasped at the appearance of the Black Rider, the urban legend herself. The commotion caused Colm and Kichiro to stop bickering mindlessly as well and watch with identical quizzical expressions as they stood before me. On the outside I was smiling at the two of them, while on the inside I was freaking out.
"Kishitani-san, Celty, what a nice surprise! What you guys doing here?" I asked, sweating bullets.
"Amai, you know the Black Rider?" Colm asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Yeah, we, umm, met a while ago," I answered before turning back towards Shinra, "What are you guys doing?"
"What a coincidence to meet you here! We were on our way to Russia Sushi for some lunch. Do you and your brothers want to join us?" Shinra said all smiles.
"No, we have a train to catch," I said, trying to wave him off.
"Don't worry, I bet the train won't leave for another hour, maybe more. Come on, we haven't spent any time together! Please? My treat," Shinra said, pleading a little.
I felt an ominous presence behind me, and I didn't have to turn around to know who it was emanating from.
"Your treat?" Kichiro asked, a malicious smile spreading across his face.
"We accept," Colm said, looking like a Cheshire Cat.
My brothers, the only two people I know who would take a person's generosity and rub it in their nose. I would have declined the offer once again, but the prospect of free food won over my logic that the two most superstitious people in my family would be dining with a Dullahan.
I pulled Celty aside, seeing as how Colm and Kichiro had kidnapped Shinra and were currently 'leading' him down the street towards the awkwardly shaped building.
"Celty, I need you to keep a really low profile. You remember how I reacted when I found out you were a, umm, Dullahan?" She nodded her helmet yes.
"I'm known as the skeptical one. Those two guys currently punishing Kishitani-san for his generosity are the most superstitious people in my family. They believe in Dullahan's like I believe Kishitani-san is a pervert. Which is very, very much. So please do me this one favor," I begged, putting my hands together and bowing down very low. I felt a tap on my shoulder less than a second later and looked up to see Celty typing away on her PDA.
[I understand, so could you please not bow? It makes me feel uncomfortable.]
"Thank you," I responded, straightening up before turning to walk to the restaurant. I felt another tap on my shoulder and turned again to see Celty holding out her PDA towards me.
[By the way, Shizuo called Shinra this morning. Did something happen between you two?]
"Not that I can think of at this current moment in time," I said pathetically, vaguely covering my lie. "Did you guys come out here to find me for him?" I asked, a little suspicious of Shinra's 'coincidence'.
Celty nodded her helmet before showing me her PDA. [He asked Shinra and me to find you and ask about this morning.] My face scrunched up in displeasure. 'Cheater,' I thought, looking behind me at the restaurant.
"Please tell Shizuo when you see him that he has to wait like a good little boy. Now, if you excuse me, I have to punish Kishitani-san for going along with his plan…more so than my brothers are doing right now," I said, leaving Celty to enter the restaurant. Before I had taken two steps, I felt a light tap on my shoulder, when I turned around, I saw her PDA in my face again.
[Why did you kiss him? Do you like him? I promise I won't tell him.] I felt my face blush at the unexpectedness of it and turned to face her fully.
"I don't dislike him if that's what you're asking," I said, trying to erase the blush I know she could clearly see…I think. "Just…let me take care of that when I come back, okay?" I said turning back around and heading towards the restaurant, the sound of a horse heard behind my back.
DRRR!
"It was so nice of Doctor-san to treat us to a meal," Colm said happily, licking his lips in delight.
"Too bad he has to stay there and wash dishes for a while," Kichiro said, grinning.
"The next time I see him, I'm going to punch him in his lying throat," I said, clearly irritated. I looked towards the clock once again, scowled at it, and looked back at the schedule board.
"It's not like he knew it would leave early, Amai," Colm said, trying to get my temper down.
"It didn't leave early, it left on time. Kishitani-san just wasted our time with pointless chit-chat," I argued, glaring up at him.
"Look, the next train will be here in a few hours, and from there we'll be stuck together for thirteen hours, might as well simmer down and make this endeavor enjoyable. Actually, you could go home and pack while we wait here. Not like you have anything better to do," Kichiro said, leaning back on the bench we sat on, getting comfortable for a long wait. I pursed my lips before standing up, deciding his plan was better than mine.
"I'll be back in an hour or two. If I'm not here when the train leaves, feel free to scalp my ticket," I said, handing them the small ticket stub before walking outside and squinting at the sunlight.
DRRR!
'When did Taka-chan get a new door? And a new lock? Good thing I left my tools in my old apartment,' I thought, listening to the inside mechanism before losing my hold in the lock. 'Shit, now I need to start over,' I thought, repositioning the pick and wrench inside the key hole. When the pick slipped a second time, I sat back on my heels and looked at my kit, took out a different shaped pick and went back to work. When the lock clicked and the handle turned for me, I smiled in triumph, feeling once again glad that Patrick had taught me how to pick locks.
'To think my guidance counselor said my skills wouldn't be useful in the real world,' I thought coolly, walking across the small living room, momentarily stopping at Moo-Moo's temporary box house and looking in at the nursing kittens.
"Aww~ You three puff-balls look just like the cat that knocked-up your mother~" I cooed at them, lightly stroking the fur of the one blond kitten that arched his back and hissed a little at me. "I think I'll call you Shizu-chan, just 'cause you're so cwanky," I cooed at him before turning away from the box at the sound of my name being said in a hushed tone from the bedroom door.
"Amai, what are you doing here?" Taka-chan asked, closing the door behind him quietly before walking over to where I sat on the couch and sitting down awkwardly.
"I live here temporarily, I thought you knew that," I said, picking up a small, tan colored kitten and rubbing its fluffy fur against my cheek.
"I know that, I meant how did you get in? I got a new lock yesterday, and you don't have a key," he clarified, holding out his hand for the small kitten in my hand. I placed the small kitten in his hand and watched as he stroked the little kitten's fur, making him purr.
"I have a lock picking kit, learned the trade from my brother Patrick," I said, grinning as I showed him the black case full of metal picks and tension wrenches.
"What does your brother do for a living? Break into electronic stores?" he asked, looking a little surprised.
"No, he's a public accountant," I answered, "speaking of, I need to pack. I'm going on a mini vacation back home."
"How'd you get Akira-san to say yes to that? You've been working for less than two weeks. And what about that other job, the bakery one?" he said, putting the kitten back in the box, following me to his bedroom where I had stashed all my clothes.
"Told him I got assaulted on the way home from work and he gave me the two weeks off under the assumption that I'm getting physiological help. And I just told Miss Yuumi I was going on a much needed vacation," I answered, placing a hand on the door, only to have him block it.
"What do you mean assaulted?! Who was it? Are you all right?! Did you get hurt? Was that why you were gone all night? Was that why the police came by earlier?" he said, rambling towards the end.
"Yes, I was assaulted. Yes I am alright. And, no, that was not why I was out all night. I spent the night over at Shizuo's," I answered, trying to get Taka-chan to unblock the door.
"What do you mean you spent the night? Oh…my…GOD! Did he take advantage of you in your vulnerable state?!" he exclaimed looking really concerned.
"Yeah right, that virgin wouldn't know how to take advantage if I gave it to him. And also, back up drama queen. The only thing that happened last night was that we slept in the same bed, nothing more and nothing less. And also, by the smell you're giving off, it looks like the one who got laid last night was you," I said, taking a step back and waving a hand in front of my face to clear the air around me from the sex smell he emitted. For the first time since I've known him, I saw a light red blush spread across his face, making me smile in realization that Taka-chan had actually brought someone home that made it to the next day. "Taka-chan, I'm so happy for you! Who is it? Masaki-san? Mikimoto-san?" I asked listing off the names of guys I knew Taka-chan had had strong feeling for as I reached around him and opened the door, taking advantage of his shy state.
As I looked inside to see who it was, I pursed my lips to keep from giggling hysterically at the sight before me: a large bear-like man stripped naked standing before me. Ordinarily, this sight would have had me running from the room, but seeing Naoki standing there in all his naked glory, purple hickeys covering his neck and, if I could see properly, bite marks on his butt was I sight I couldn't help but smile and laugh at. "So…Naoki-san, I bet you're more of a grower, not a shower depending on the way Taka-chan was sitting earlier," was the first thing that came out of my mouth.
"Please, Amai! Don't be so crass and…truthful," Taka-chan said, leaning against the door frame and fanning his face in an appreciative manner as he looked up and down Naoki's figure as he stumbled to pull his pants on.
"You weren't so shy when you were asking about my sex life before," I said, shielding my eyes as Naoki got dressed.
"That's different, you need get laid," he said.
"Hey! I've had sex with three different guys, not counting the first one," I said.
"Why not the first one?" Naoki asked, taking my attention away from Taka-chan.
"Never the first one," I said darkly, looking at him menacingly, making him back away slowly from me in fright.
"That bad?" Taka-chan asked. I looked back at him before answering.
"Really bad," I said, before turning away from them both and stalking to the closet, pulling my clothes off of their hanger and stuffing them in a small backpack.
"Well, the first time is never good, especially for a small girl like you," commented Taka-chan. I rolled my eyes at his comment and unbuttoned the borrowed shirt, slipped on a shirt. I did the same with the pants, pulling on a pair of jeans and leaving the dress pants in a neat, folded pile in the closet. Unlike my other clothes, I folded Shizuo's shirt and placed it inside my backpack. There was no special reason; I just had no way of getting it back to Shizuo in the forty minutes I had left to walk back to the train station and board the train before my brothers sold my ticket.
"See ya, Taka-chan. Don't break him Naomi-san," I said quickly, pulling my violin case and my hat from the top shelf of the closet and edging past Taka-chan to the front door.
"Wait! Who was the person that assaulted you?!" Taka-chan asked, grabbing my arm to keep me from leaving.
"It shouldn't be that hard to figure out. Who is the one person that kept trying to molest me these past few years?" I asked, looking at him dully.
"That bastard, he didn't!" exclaimed Taka-chan.
"He did! That's why I beat him into a state of unconsciousness," I explained, turning to him fully, no longer trying to get out of the apartment.
"No kidding, the police came by earlier to drop him off. Thought he got in a bar brawl by the looks of him."
"Do they have any leads? Did the pervert say anything?" I asked, partially concerned for my own well being. By this time Naoki had either become bored with us or found no place in our conversation, as he was currently playing with the little blind, tan-colored kitten.
"Not much to go on since he won't say anything coherent."
"Wait, if you knew all that, why did you ask me who attacked me last night? Wouldn't it have been obvious?"
"How was I supposed to know you would get molested by Hotaka-san again?!" he exclaimed, clearly exasperated.
"Well, in case he does talk, can you cover for me? We both know I have a bad reputation and they'll probably take the opinion of the beat-up guy," I said while slipping my fedora over my head.
"I'm behind you all the way on this one, but what's your alibi?" he asked, putting his hands on his slender, lady hips.
"If they ask, tell them that I spent the night over at Shizuo's place and I have the underwear to prove it," I said bluntly, hooking my thumb into the waistband of my jeans and pulling them down enough to display the dark blue boxers covering my ass underneath. How he missed that important piece of evidence when I was changing, would be the larger-than-life man-candy standing next to me trying to pull a too tight shirt over his upper body. He didn't laugh like my jackass brothers, he only smirked.
"All that's left is one loose end," I said, looking over Taka-chan's shoulder at the muscle man, otherwise known as Naoki-san. Taka-chan looked as well and upon feeling our gazes on him, Naoki-san raised his head before lowering his eyes to the ground, unsure of himself.
"I don't know. I don't like withholding evidence from the police," he said, rubbing the little kitten's fur between his fingers.
"What if I give you something to keep your mouth shut," Taka-chan said, a little annoyed at the muscle man's weak personality.
"You already gave him back door. What else could you give him?" I asked, making Taka-chan blush at the comment. I looked back at Naoki-san, watching as he fawned over the small, week-old kitten. Suddenly I got an idea.
"I'll give you the kitten if you keep quiet."
"Re-really?!" he exclaimed, clearly surprised.
"Yeah, but you have to wait seven weeks until he can be separated from Moo-Moo," I said, before being tackled to the ground be the muscle man.
"Deal!" he exclaimed, hugging me close.
"Taka-chan, help! I don't care if you're under him, but I don't want to be!" I gasped, waving my arms around for help.
DRRR!
I let the lobby door of the apartment building close behind me before stretching my arms above my head, getting out the kinks in my back that Naoki-san had left when he tackled me. I let my free arm fall back to my side and let my left arm swing down in a sort of pendulum motion.
"Feeling sore are we Amai-chan?" said a creepily familiar voice. I jumped at the sudden sound, turning to look at the black haired man leaning against the brick wall of the decrepit building.
"To be honest, a little," I responded, not at all surprised by the note of false sincerity I heard in his voice.
"Understandable given the night you've had," he said, pushing off of the wall to walk beside me as I walked away from, trying but failing to ignore him.
"How would you know?" I asked, instantly regretting it as soon as I said it. Of course this guy would know he basically gets paid to know everything circulating around here.
"I know you were assaulted by one Mitsukanei Hotaka, and I know you came out victorious," he said, looking at me with that stupid smirk of his. "And no, I won't rat you out to the police, frankly I see no worth in having my precious pawn put behind bars for a few months," he said in a bored tone of voice.
"Thanks for your cooperation dear sir," I said a little snidely.
He smirked at my slightly sarcastic remark before continuing his train of thought. "I also know you spent the night with one Heiwajima Shizuo. Care to elaborate?"
"Not really since you'll probably hear it through word of mouth anyway. Care to explain why you know about Chikan-san attacking me?" I asked, looking at him out of the corner of my eye.
He smiled an all-knowing smile, "Because I'm the one who told him where you worked Amai-chan. It wasn't easy getting into his inebriated mind, but I convinced him to take out his frustration on you," he said before ducking out of the way of my fist that was once on a collision course to his face. When my fist swiped at the air in front of his face, I changed its directive and opened my hand to close around his jacket, shoving him into a wall and holding him there. The sad, almost infuriating part of it all was that he had a slightly excited grin on his face, like he enjoyed not seeing that part coming.
"You're a dick, you know that?" I spat at him, narrowing my eyes displeasingly at his smirking face.
"That's not a very nice thing to say Amai-chan," Izaya said, looking as at ease as a house cat lying in the sun.
"According to the whole city, I'm not a "very nice" person to begin with," I responded, pushing my fist further into his chest. "Why did you do that anyway?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"Only to see how my dear piece would play. For you it could have gone either way. You could have played the cat, and pounced on her prey. Or, if you wanted to disappoint me, you could have played the mouse and let them "play" with you, so to speak," he said coolly, smoothly, like he had that whole speech planned out.
"You do realize that aiding and abetting a crime is illegal, right?" I asked, trying to read his eyes and see what the hell he was thinking.
"Then we'll have to do each other a favor to keep ourselves out of jail." Apparently he was thinking of screwing with me and my mind.
I let go of the furry edge of his coat and stalking away from him quickly down the street. Behind me I heard him laugh a little bit, and afterword heard footsteps following mine. After roughly five minutes of "follow the leader", I felt my frustration at him wane and fluctuate repeatedly, until I finally turned around and glared at him.
"If you want your testicles attached to your body, you won't say anything to piss me off," I bargained. Honestly, if he's going to follow me, he might as well make decent chit chat.
"Amai-chan, are you finally warming up to me?" he said, sort of skipping to my side.
"What did I say about pissing me off?" I said, setting my jaw and looking straight forward, not sparing a glance at the man next to me.
"You know, one would think you would freeze up in a situation so close to that traumatic event you experienced so many years ago," he said, blatantly ignoring my question, substituting instead a theory.
"Two things Orihara-san, one: it was years ago, so the event has been…almost repressed from my mind. And two: the only thing traumatic about that "event" was that he wasn't any good. It's not like he broke anything any way. Just my trust and respect in all teachers and, you know, the law," I answered, breaking my stare ahead to look at him out of the corner of my eye. He looked thoughtful, a hint of a smile or a smirk playing on his lips.
"Out of curiosity, where are you going anyway?" he asked, nonchalantly.
"Not that I should tell you, but since you'll find out anyway…I'm going on a trip back home with my brothers for two weeks. No doubt you know where, right?" I asked, mildly curious.
"The two natural red-heads, Colm and Kichiro Tachibana, over at the university, who would have thought two level-headed men like them would be related to a hot-head like you," he commented.
"Like you didn't already know," I grimaced, not liking how much he knew about my family. "This is my stop. Unless you plan on following me inside, feel free to walk away now, unless you want me to do something unexpected and push you onto the tracks," I said, not that I would. I didn't want to go to jail for murder.
"It's not unexpected if you tell me prior, Amai-chan," he responded. Like a child I stuck out my tongue at him and turned to go down the stairs to the meet my brothers. Before I took the first step down, I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, roughly keeping me in place and as a trail of warm breathe flowed into my ear.
"Have a safe trip, Amai-chan," he whispered. His breath was warm. His words sounded warm. But his voice was ice cold. I didn't know what to think, so I didn't spare it another thought, other than the fact that he wanted me, his "pawn", to keep safe for him to test and play with as he pleased. Actually that was exactly what I thought.
I left him soon after he had walked away into the ever flowing crowd, walking down the stairs and immediately finding my tall, red-head brothers amidst the crowd as they shuffled forward at a snail's pace, looking this way and that for their red-headed little sister. When they finally spotted me, they stopped moving altogether, making several people behind them grown in protest as they waved to me. I soon joined them, smiling up at them as I showed them the shiny, wooded surface of my violin case. Their faces brightened in expectation for the music they would hear me play, and as we sat down in a row, with me in between the two of them, they animatedly chattered about what things they would, or what people they should see, or what music I should play when we arrived home. I listened to them for a bit, before letting their voices turn into background noise as I looked across at the window beside Colm, feeling the breath catch in my throat at the too familiar face and the too familiar blond hair that stuck out above the crowd. I was in shock. Why was he here? He couldn't have followed me; I doubt he would have kept his cool when Izaya was within killing range. Then…was he waiting here for me? I felt that my suspicions were confirmed when he lifted his hand and waved to me. Slightly splayed fingers and a twitch of his hand that just about amounted to a good bye wave. I lifted my own despite the utter confusion this caused my brothers, and moved my hand in my own form mf good bye, a simple, quick movement of my stuck-together fingers from one side to the other. He acknowledged this with a nod of his head before moving his hand to the bridge of his nose, self consciously readjusting his glasses before looking up at me as the train started to move. On a spur of the moment whim, I lifted myself out of the seat, across Colm and almost violently moved the window out of my way, sticking my head out and yelling to him over the noise of the people, the train, and the everyday life.
"I'll be back in two weeks, so you better not forget about me or I'll come back just to kick your ass!" a lot of the people in and outside of the train simply looked or glared at me. But not Shizuo. No, he smirked and nodded his head once more, another understanding. I smiled back at him before pulling my head back inside the train and locking the window once more, settling in for the long ride ahead of me.
Out of the list of abnormal things to happen today; the kiss with Shizuo, me winning a fight against the evil professor, telling my brothers about the kiss with Shizuo, the run in with a Dullahan and her fan boy, walking in on Taka-chan's possibly-not-one-night-stand, the conversation with Izaya and Shizuo seeing me off, the only thing I found the most abnormal was the kiss with Shizuo. If I faced the facts, then all the other stuff was bound to happen, except for of course the conversation with Izaya since that in and of itself was a surprise, and that on some unconscious level, I knew I would see Shizuo one more time that day. But really, what are my feeling for Shizuo? When I kissed him, it was only to mock him of his virgin status and make him uncomfortable and tease him for the two weeks until my eventual return. But seeing him see me off when I just about told him "I'm teasing you for the next two weeks, so suffer over what the hell might be going through my mind, and what my feeling for you might be"…it made me question what I actually did feel for Shizuo. And now that I focus on it…I enjoyed it, even though it lasted a few seconds.