Being Human

by sheneverupdates

Shingen's experiments tend to cause a bit of an uproar from time to time. Never like this though. Then again, the very idea of two Izayas is enough to throw Ikebukuro into chaos. Hachimenroppi!Izaya. Shizaya (Side Pairing: Shizuo x Roppi, eventual TsukiRoppi). Contains Yaoi scenes as of Chapter 17.

23. End Of A Life, End Of A Lie

A few minutes before Izaya's stabbing, in an apartment in Ikebukuro

Roppi had been at the apartment Izaya sent him to earlier. He was confused as to why there were so many Dragon Zombie members guarding the place. He wasn't in the mood to ask Izaya, so he let it be for now. He resigned himself to the 'house-arrest' his twin burdened him with and logged on to the usual chatroom. He made himself comfortable in the apartment and chatted with the others for a few hours.

That was until he got a text from Izaya. [Yodogiri is going to hit Kishitani Shingen's residence. Go.]

Roppi stood up abruptly, startling the others in the room. They may have asked him what was wrong, but Roppi wasn't listening either way. He was already moving, as if his body was on autopilot with the sole objective: 'get to the apartment in the quickest way possible'. Any other normal person may have chosen the stairs, but in that critical moment, Roppi chose the balcony. He shoved the glass door open and leapt off the ledge, catching the railing with his hand. He let go and dropped down one floor, and caught the next balcony railing. He repeated this until he was on the second floor, then dropped all the way down to the ground.

The subsequent dash to the apartment was a blur. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that he knocked over several people on the way, he was knocked down at some point, and leapt over moving cars in his haste.

Roppi just kept running.

He probably looked insane speeding through the streets the way he was, but he was beyond caring. It was almost primal how desperate he was to get to that shabby apartment. To get to the people who were the closest thing he would get to a happy home. Just the thought of them in danger had his heartbeat thundering in his ears, and his blood was roaring through his veins.

He'd kill the Yodogiri group if anything happened to them. Painfully.

Once he arrived at the building, he ran up the stairs two steps at a time. There were a few shady characters loitering on Shingen's floor. Roppi paid them no mind until one grabbed him, which earned the unsuspecting stranger a quick trip over the railing to the first floor. The rest of them looked like they were about to attack him too. Roppi blindly grabbed for something nearby and threw it at them. He spun on his heel and dashed towards Shingen's apartment, without looking to see if he hit his targets. The loud crash and chorus of groans was enough for him. If he wasn't in such a hurry, he would've been dumbstruck at the fact he ripped a door off its hinges and hurled it with little effort.

Roppi hurried down the rest of the corridor and crashed into the door frame of Shingen's place. To his dismay, the door to the apartment was already open.

On the ground was a sight that would haunt him for days. Emilia and Shingen's convulsing bodies lay there, and thick plastic bags tied to their heads.

Roppi immediately dropped to the ground and pulled out his knife. In a flash, he slashed at the plastic on Shingen and tore it apart with his hands. He scrambled to Emilia next without wasting a second. His knife shaking in his panicked grip, found the edge of the plastic. He sliced though, clumsily nicking her skin along with it. He tried ignoring the beads of red that welled up on her skin in favour of freeing her from the suffocating prison.

Emilia sucked a greedy breath, coughing harshly and blinded by tears as they streaked her red cheeks. it took her a few seconds, but when her vision cleared, she made a whimpering noise when she recognized Roppi's face. She reached out to him sobbing, and he immediately took the woman into his arms, embracing her small frame. Her shoulders shook as she cried, unable to form words in her distress. Roppi hugged her a little tighter.

'If I was just a minute later…'

Roppi's eyes immediately landed on Shingen's unmoving form, his insides churned with dread.

"Shingen…" Roppi whispered, unable to summon the strength to move to him.

In contrast, Emilia snapped to attention, eyes immediately finding her husband's body, and rushed to his side. She called out his name and pressed two fingers at his neck looking for a pulse. Roppi was a little slow to follow, afraid of what she would find. She rubbed his sternum, calling his name again, when he finally stirred, groaning softly.

Roppi let out a breath, and Emilia collapsed against Shingen's chest and began to cry again, with relief this time. His arm reached up and weakly wrapped around her.

Roppi watched his former guardians as rage began to stir in his chest. They dragged these two innocent civilians into their fight, and they nearly died. He wouldn't forgive him. Any of them. The Yodogiri group were living on borrowed time.

It was only then when Roppi heard a muffled voice coming from deeper inside the apartment.

Coming from Tsuki's room.

He cursed and ran towards the sound.

"... If we can ... as strong as that Izaya double ...extremely valuable.."

It sounded like a kid's voice. Not like his age mattered. He was responsible for attacking Emilia and Shingen, he's dead.

The door was wide open, revealing a child, maybe 10 years old, tugging at Tsuki's wiring.

"You won't die if I unplug you, right? It's better if you tell me now, or I might accidently kill you."

[St-Stop! Y-You can't...please]

Roppi saw red, the sound of his Tsuki begging for mercy fuelled his anger further. He was behind the kid before he realized he had already taken a step.

"Listen, I'm not going to kill you-" The boy started to say, before Roppi seized the back of his head and slammed it on the desk.

"But too bad for you, I am going to kill you."

[Roppi-san!] Tsuki gasped in surprise.

Blood streamed from the boy's nose, dripping over his mouth and chin. He made frantic attempts to pull himself out of Roppi's grip, but the infuriated raven wasn't planning on letting him go. He pulled the kid back and pistoled his fist into the boy's gut.

The boy doubled over and collapsed on the floor. He weakly looked up at his assailant. Ryou knew for a fact that he couldn't talk his way out of this. Maybe it was the look those ruby eyes gave him, as if he were looking at a corpse.

"You're the kid from the warehouse. The one that showed up with that Masaru bastard."

Ryou did not confirm his accusation.

"Well, it doesn't matter..." Roppi growled and grabbed by his collar and punched him in the jaw. Ryou grunted in pain. Weakly, he groped his pocket for his taser, when another punch nearly knocked him out. Followed by another, and another.

[Roppi-san, stop!]

Roppi hesitated, "Tsuki, look away. You don't need to see this."

[N-No! He'll die at this rate!]

That was enough of a distraction that Ryou needed to find his taser and zap the man straddling him. He shoved Roppi off and stumbled out the door before anyone could react.

"Shit!" Roppi snarled before scrambling to run after him, ignoring Tsukishima's cry in protest.

A big cloud of white smoke burst out as soon as he stepped out of the room, blinding him from his target.

A smoke screen. Like the one he used at the warehouse.

Roppi blindly stumbled around the apartment, cursing when he bumped into furniture. He finally found a wall and used it to walk towards where the door was supposed to be. He heard light coughing and found Emilia and Shingen again. Emilia had pulled her gas mask on as well to protect her airways from the sudden smoke.

"Are you two alright?" Roppi asked.

"Yes." Came Shingen's weak voice, "That brat ran past us before he set this smoke off."

Roppi walked towards the door, already knowing he had gotten away. He clenched his fists at his sides. He was ready to kill that kid. And he didn't know how he felt about that yet.

For now, he had his family to take care of.

---

Current time, at an apartment building off of Nagoya highway

"Hmmm. Which one, which one?" A bespectacled girl asked while hovering her hand above a row of cards that another bespectacled man held.

The man smiled slyly, "Which one, indeed."

Mairu snatched one card from his hand and immediately wailed when she saw what it was, "Nooooo! Not the Joker again!"

"Too bad, Mairu-chan" Shinra chuckled.

"...unlucky (That's the third time)" Kurui commented.

[It's not your fault, Mairu-chan. Shinra's a hard opponent. His poker face is hard to read.]

"Aw, Celty! I'm glad you think so! Well, to be honest, I'm only good when I'm playing with you. I can always tell when you have the Joker card."

[?! What? That's not true! If you know where the Joker card is, then how come you always end up taking it from my hand?]

"That's because if Celty has the Joker, then she'll lose. I can't have that, so I always go for it."

"...cute (That's so romantic)"

"Wait, wait, wait! But how do you know how to get me to take it?" Mairu asked.

Shinra blinked, "Eh? I don't really mind if you take the Joker or not, that's just random chance. But if it means my darling Celty will win, I don't care whether I win or lose!"

[...so that's why your poker face is so good.]

The Orihara twins sat in the living room of Shinra and Celty's affectionately dubbed 'lovenest'. The four of them sat in the living room playing Old Maid. Earlier, Celty decided that they should do a more social activity rather than stay on their own phones and devices within a shared space. Hence, why they were playing.

"We're extremely honoured to be invited to your home twice in a row, aren't we Kuru-nee?"

A nod.

"But you know, there's got to be some reason right, Celty-san?"

[Nothing in particular, your brother asked me to look after you tonight.]

"Heeh….Iza-nii did? And why is that? That's very unlike him." The young girl's eyes sparkled with curiosity behind her glasses. It was times like these when she could see the family resemblance between the girls and their older brother.

Celty didn't answer, but went to pick a card from Mairu's hand, as Kururi already finished hers.

Mairu shifted her cards out of reach, "Okay, if you're not going to tell us that, then answer this. Do you know what's going on with Iza-nii lately? Something's up."

Celty's hand paused mid-reach. She tilted her helmet questioningly.

Kururi spoke up as well, "...different…(His behaviour is off)"

"We noticed it yesterday. He was acting weird at the shopping center. We thought it was because we haven't seen him in a while, and something must've happened. But at the party, poof! He's back to his normal self. What's up with that?"

"...concern…(We want to know)"

Celty flinched. She probably shouldn't say anything. Right? Izaya should just tell them himself. She did feel slightly guilty for knowing their brother's situation, when they were his family and didn't know.

Would it be okay for her to tell them? It wasn't like they were a third party.

No, she shouldn't. She didn't know if that would complicate the whole situation.

How would they react? Roppi was technically related to them by blood right? Wouldn't that make him their big brother? That technically made two sets of twins for the Orihara family.

Before she could decide whether she should tell them or not, or maybe even hint at it, the decision was taken out of her hands by an unexpected guest.

SMASH

A figure came crashing through the balcony window showering the room with flying shards of glass. All the occupants jumped. Shinra instinctively threw himself in front of Celty to protect her from whatever came through the window. Mairu instinctively jumped in front of Kururi to shield her body from danger. From behind Shinra, Celty leapt to her feet, her shadows shot out catching the flying shards of glass before they hit anyone.

'An enemy?' Celty thought, but once she got a good look at who slammed through the window she relaxed, only slightly. Shinra peered past Celty's shadows as well to see what exactly happened when he also saw who it was.

"Shizuo?! What on earth-?"

Shizuo stood from his crouching position on the pile of broken glass. That was when everyone noticed he was also carrying an unconscious and bleeding Izaya in his arms.

Shizuo looked up with a stony expression, "Help him."

Shinra looked perplexed for a split second before he nodded, "Put him down on that couch, I'll get my medical kit. Put pressure on the wound until I get back."

Shizuo didn't waste any time either as he strode forward to the unoccupied couch and placed Izaya down gently. As he drew back, the front of his shirt was revealed and it was stained with blood. Celty formed a towel with her shadows and passed it to Shizuo who pressed it down on Izaya's wound.

Celty placed a hand on his shoulder, [What happened?]

Shizuo shook his head, "I don't know...we were supposed to meet, then he called me, he was acting weird, so I hurried to the place and found him like this. I brought him straight here."

[Shizuo, you're bleeding too!] Celty fussed when she noticed that it wasn't all Izaya's blood on Shizuo's shirt. Between the torn fabric of his shirt, she spotted wounds on Shizuo's arms and shoulders, bleeding steadily and dripping on the floor.

Shizuo glanced down on himself "Oh, yeah. I got into a bit of trouble before I found him. It's nothing. I can wait."

Celty sighed in disbelief, and let her shadows wrap around his wounds, like makeshift bandages, stopping the blood flow. Shizuo muttered a distracted thanks as he kept a watchful eye on Izaya.

Shinra returned in an instant, and set his bag down and set out the necessary tools on the coffee table. Shizuo moved out of the way to let Shinra inspect the damage. The wound was on the lower right side of his abdomen. It was bleeding sluggishly, not heavily, Shinra noted.

"One stab wound, no vital organs were injured. Either he's very lucky or whoever attacked him wasn't trying to kill him. But he still lost a lot of blood" he said, as he wiped the wound clean and disinfected it.

Mairu and Kururi stepped closer as well. Kururi didn't say anything and just looked at her older brother with an unreadable look, while Mairu hummed in interest then turned her head to look at the shattered window.

"So, how did Shizuo-san manage to fly through the window like a superhero with Nii-san in a princess carry?"

Shizuo blinked as if he realized what a bizarre entrance he must have made. He was in such a rush, he didn't even think twice about his actions. "Ah...sorry about that. I thought it would be quicker to hop up the balcony railings. I'll pay for it later."

Celty waved a hand and typed on her PDA, [We'll worry about that afterward.]

"Oh wow! That's some amazing parkour skills!" Mairu gushed. "As expected of Shizuo-hey! Celty-san what's the big idea?"

Celty placed a hand on both girls back and pushed them away from the scene. [You two shouldn't watch. It's your brother after all.]

"Don't…(we don't mind)" Kururi muttered.

"Yeah!" Mairu protested as well, "Besides, we have more questions for Shizuo! For example," her glasses glinted as she turned back to the man in question, "Since when have you and Izaya-nii been close? Did something happen between you two? I was going to ask at the hot pot party, but I didn't get a chance."

Shizuo didn't address her question right away, he quietly watched Shinra as he stitched up Izaya's wound. Finally he spoke, "I guess you can say that. We're dating now."

Shinra nearly dropped his scissors, and Celty stumbled back as if she was physically hit.

"Say WHAT? SERIOUSLY? Shizuo-san like, for REAL? You and Izaya-nii?"

"Shock…(I didn't see that coming)"

Shinra thought for a second that the world must be ending for Shizuo to make a joke like that, and remembered, Shizuo didn't tell jokes. "Shizuo, seriously...you need more tact. You can't just drop a bomb like that without a warning. Thought I was going to die of shock just now."

Shizuo had the audacity to look perplexed, "Really? My bad."

Celty's fingers flew over her keyboard, [W-W-What do you mean you two are dating? D-D-Did Izaya blackmail you? Are you being forced? You can tell me!]

"No, I just...changed my opinion of him? That's all. He...has some good points too. So I've come to like him, I guess." Shizuo scratched his cheek, his gaze dropping to the ground.

The dullahan seemed to calm down slightly, yet still in disbelief, [...what brought this on? You've always hated Izaya since you've met him.]

"Yeah, you're right." Shizuo nodded in agreement, "But you know, ever since that day he jumped in front of a bullet for me, I started to see him in a new light."

Celty's hands gripped together anxiously. She knew that it wasn't Izaya who took a bullet for him, it was Roppi. Shinra looked her way for a second, knowing what was thinking, then silently turned back to patching up Izaya. Celty internally sighed, she didn't have the heart to tell him. Not when he was smiling like that. And plus, it was Roppi's secret too, revealing it would cause him trouble as well.

Mairu and Kururi exchanged glances then smiled.

"Well, Shizuo-san could do better, but ain't that great for big bro?" The bespectacled girl giggled, "He's been head over heels for Shizu-chan since forever."

"Love." Kururi added.

Shizuo's eyes finally left Izaya's unconscious form and looked at his sisters with interest. "Izaya? With me?"

The twins nodded in sync. "Izaya-nii would always try and hide it, but we could tell right away. The days Shizuo chased him and fought him, he'd come home in high spirits, and the days he was ignored he'd be in a bad mood."

"Sulk...(He'd mope all day)"

Shinra had finished stitching and tying up the wound when he paused, "Oh...now that you mention it, I noticed that too."

[Wait, really Shinra?] If Celty had eyebrows they would've shot up to her hairline at this Orihara twins may exaggerate from time to time, but if Shinra also verified their claims, that would mean there was some truth to this.

Shinra nodded, "I remember one time Shizuo ignored him all day and I found Izaya on the roof stabbing ground with his knife. His mood took a 180 turn when Shizuo finally caved and threw a desk at him. At the time I thought it was weird, I never would've thought that was the reason though."

"I know right? But if you paid close enough attention, it's super obvious. Iza-nii would talk about Shizuo all the time and he would have this sparkle in his eye. I have to admit, we were a little jealous at first, but we've never seen Iza-nii so happy before, so we let it go. Then slowly that spark faded, I guess that was around the time he started to give up on Shizuo-san. Up until now we thought it would be a tragic unrequited love, like the side character in a shoujo manga that would never end up with the main character. Who'd ever thought it would actually happen?"

"Relief...(We're happy for you two)."

"Mairu….Kururi...shut it." Came a tired voice, drawing everyone's attention to Izaya, who was now semi-conscious.

Shinra straightened up, "Oh! Izaya you're awake! How are you feeling?"

Izaya huffed, and then winced, "Like I've been gutted. What did I miss?"

"Nothing much. You were stabbed, Shizuo brought you here."

Shizuo strode forward and knelt next to his injured partner, "Hey."

Izaya gave him a weak smile, "Hey. Sorry for the trouble."

"Who did this to you?"

Izaya groaned, "Doesn't matter, he fell for it."

Shizuo didn't understand what he meant, but didn't push him for answers. Now wasn't the time. He brushed his dark locks back with his fingers, massaging his head tenderly. "Alright then. Get some rest, Izaya."

Shinra and Celty exchanged disbelieving glances, neither of them quite believing what they were seeing. Celty typed, [I kind of...feel I owe Karisawa an apology.]

---

An estate north of Ikebukuro

Masaru exited the car while a group of men greeted him.

"Welcome back Yodogiri dono."

With a cocky smirk he responded, "Hey ya bastards, miss me?"

"No." Came a young voice from behind him.

Masaru turned to see Ryou shuffling towards the group. His face was badly battered and bruised.

"Damn, Fourth. What happened to your face?"

The boy clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Your face isn't looking any better you narcissist."

"I got beaten and tortured by yakuza for two days. What's your excuse?"

"...I ran into a little trouble with Izaya's double…I tried to kill his pseudo-family."

Masaru laughed, "Shit, he messed you up good."

The two of them silently walked the rest of the way to the estate.

Inside, they made their way to the meeting room, only to find everyone waiting from them there. Every subordinate they had on hand were rounded up in this room where they barely managed to fit inside. It was a rather tacky way for the boss to show off, but he wasn't going to judge.

Akiyama sat in a chair before them all with Aya sitting on its armrest, the head of the dullahan resting on her lap.

Masaru took the sight. It looked like Akiyama finally got serious in their war. If he's calling everyone in like this, then it's either that, or he wants to assert his position as the leader to everyone.

Funny.

Either way, Izaya must have really made him sweat to get him to bring everyone in. Maybe now, everyone will see how shitty he is at his job.

'Well, isn't this perfect for me then?' Masaru thought. He grinned and called out to their soon to be ex-leader, "Thanks for the ride, First. I was thinkin' you'd never show!"

Akiyama kept his expression blank but his posture betrayed his impatience and irritation, "Masaru. Pleased to see you survived. I hope you learned something in your absence."

"Oh, nothing special. Anything good happen while I was gone?"

Akiyama frowned, "You didn't learn anything while you were at the Awakuzu's headquarters? Do you understand what a rare opportunity that was?"

"I was tied up in their basement. It was a little hard for me to gather intel."

Akiyama shook his head, "I shouldn't have expected any different."

Masaru grit his teeth through a smile. He wanted to snap at him. But he knew if he argued now, it would end up looking like a tantrum.

Akiyama addressed the rest of the room, "We were victorious today. We obtained the dullahan head and the Nebula weapon. The two final pieces to our honorable mission. Awakening the dullahan head and saving this city from itself. Once we set off the weapon in the center of the city, the head will awaken amongst the chaos and deliver us to Nirvana!"

A chorus of cheers rang out from the crowd.

This, of course, was bullshit Akiyama fed to these cronies, who seemed to buy it for the most part. A lot of them were the type that have given up on this corrupt world and want to watch it burn under the pretense of saving it. The rest were only following him because they were loyal to the original Yodogiri. But all Akiyama was interested in was immorality, which he probably wasn't going to share. Masaru snorted to himself. The only reason he went along with this nonsense was keeping up his old man's name. And on the off chance the lunatic was right, he'd just snatch it from under his nose when he least expected it.

Akiyama's eyes shifted to him, as if he was able to hear his thoughts. He continued, "Not only that, we retrieved one of our own and incapacitated Orihara Izaya. I was hoping you would've at least dispatched him properly, but it seems that is also out of your capabilities Masaru-kun."

Masaru clicked his tongue loudly, but said nothing.

"Tell me you were at least wise enough to stay silent about our plans and Yodogiri's true identity?"

Masaru just about reached his limit, "Hey now, you know I'm smarter than that! I'd never spill anything about the four of us!"

"So you didn't tell them my name, or any of our plans?"

"Of course not, don't be stupid old man!"

Everyone in the room flinched at how Masaru rudely addressed the boss. Nobody gets away with calling him such names.

The boss sighed and made his way towards Masaru, buzzing whispers of all subordinates present followed him, "Now, it's all well you didn't reveal any of our information, I'm actually proud of how you managed to stay strong until we came to recover you."

Masaru nodded, but took a noticeable step back when he came within arm's reach. If Akiyama noticed this, he didn't show any sign.

"I've been lenient to you because you were Yodogiri-san's son. But, that doesn't give you the freedom to address me in whatever way you see fit. You will address me as Boss, understood?"

Masaru pursed his lips. Izaya's words traitorously repeated themselves in his head like a mantra. 'Shouldn't you be boss, then?'

"Maybe you ain't got it in you to be a Yodogiri. Akiyama Shin-san. "

Masaru instinctively swung his head to the side, and he saw Akiyama's fist pass by. Unlucky, the older man didn't miss a beat and he simply grabbed Masaru's head instead and slammed it into his knee.

"Ever wonder why I was your father's right hand man? Because I alone could protect him. I alone can protect the Yodogiri name!"

Face stinging, but pride smarting more, Masaru tackled his superior, grabbed him by his collar and began punching him repeatedly, "You're dragging my old man's name in the mud with your bullshit and amateur leadership."

Akiyama snarled and twisted them over, pinning the younger man down while his hand squeezed around his neck, "You want to talk amateur, you bastard child?"

Masaru brought his leg in and landed a solid kick on Akiyama's chest, knocking him back. "Yeah, amateur was telling that Izaya-bastard where you were sending people. You're probably the reason why Ryou got fucked up so bad."

"What?" Ryou hissed from somewhere behind them.

Akiyama ignored it, straightening himself, "If you have done what I asked and killed him, it wouldn't have mattered either way."

"This is why you're no good old man. You need the three of us, my esteemed self, Rokujou Aya, and Maeda Ryou, to make up for what you lack. Without the three of us, you couldn't run things around here. The Yodogiri organization doesn't need a half-assed leader like you. They need someone who actually gives a shit and can man up and do what needs to be done!"

Akiyama stared at him blankly. Then smiled. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You've grown a lot."

Masaru blinked in confusion.

Akiyama stepped next to him and patted him on the shoulder. "So I'll acknowledge you when you say things that have merit."

"You will…?" Masaru said, unnerved by the change of tone.

"Of course," Akiyama continued. His heavy hand left Masaru's shoulder.

Suddenly, Akiyama was behind him, trapping him in a chokehold.

Akiyama whispered harshly into his ear, "I should man up, and do what needs to be done. And this has been long overdue."

With a sickening crack, Akiyama snapped his neck in one fluid motion. Yodogiri Masaru's body fell to the floor with a full thud, followed by a strange clattering.

The room was silent.

Akiyama's eyes zeroed in on the device that fell out of Masaru's jacket pocket. He frowned as he picked it up.

It was an audio transmitter.

Masaru wouldn't have sold them out, he wanted to control the organization so badly, he would never undermine it himself. By the looks of it, they must have planted it on him. And the fool didn't notice.

Akiyama turned the device over in his hand silently. It had something written on it.

It has GPS too, stuuuupid~ ;)

His grip tightened around it crushing it until it broke. Shards of broken plastic and metal bit into his skin. A small, steady stream of blood ran from his palm and dripped to the ground, the pitter patter of drops seemed to echo in the deafening silence. Akiyama's face remained impassive, but his fist shook showing his internal rage.

"Say, Masaru-kun said how many Yodogiris there are earlier, didn't he?" he asked the nearest subordinate.

"A-ah, yeah…he did."

"He said all of our names…didn't he?"

"U-um yeah…all the bosses' names"

"Hmm…" Akiyama rounded on the fearful subordinate and struck him with the back of his palm, knocking him off his feet.

"Get rid of that trash's body. NOW."

"Y-Yes Sir!"

They've had the upper hand because Izaya didn't have concrete evidence on who ran the organization, and how many of them there were, or where they were. But now, he knew. He turned to the remaining two members that went by the name of 'Yodogiri Jinnai'.

"Our identities and location have been exposed. We need to -"

A hail of gunshots interrupted him. A hoard of the Awakuzu poured into the room gunning down all the men in sight. Akiyama could only assume the ones who were on guard had already been killed. As rows and rows of their men dropped dead, he grabbed the dullahan head from Aya, and they ran away from the bloodshed.

"Damn that Orihara-brat."

That was all Akiyama could say as he fled for his life.

---

Two Days Earlier, an Apartment in Shinjuku

It was just after Roppi had just read the report that Kida and Saki compiled from their trip to Osaka. The two of them found a death certificate and funeral records on the late Yodogiri Jinnai. And to top it all off, they even managed to locate his grave. The records all indicate he died two years ago, around the time Izaya had noticed a lack of activity from his rival informant. Some activity he noted afterwards was uncharacteristic and brash in comparison, adding to the theory that there was another who took on the name Yodogiri, and continued to work in his place.

His name popped up in various incidents that were unrelated to each other, and in some cases, at the same time. Though the old Yodogiri would've been able to handle something like that, this new one seemed less competent than him. He was sloppy. He left traces here and there. He let himself be seen. No, he wasn't nearly as skilled as the original. It was likely that there was more than one person that played the role as the 'new' Yodogiri to make up for their lack of prowess. Together, they were on par to their late predecessor.

"How are we dealing with that annoying loudmouth tonight?" Roppi asked.

"Well, I said we're going to hit Yodogiri where it hurts. And we're going to use Masaru-kun for that. Do you still want to fight him Roppi-chan?"

Roppi perked up and a feral grin took over his face, "Do you have to ask?"

"Good. This is what we're going to do… going off of the way he worded his challenge, I think it's safe to say he's probably going to try something underhanded. So might as well do the same. Celty has contacted me multiple times in the past few days, saying she sighted Masaru with the Azuki-kai. I believe Masaru-kun is the liaison between his group and theirs. It's highly likely he'll be utilizing them for tonight. So while you fight Masaru-kun, I'll take care of his cronies."

Roppi raised an eyebrow, "How are you going to do that? Not that I don't think you're capable of fighting, but there's probably going to be a mob of them. Not your type of fight."

"I have an acquaintance that might be able to help us out with swaying them over to our side. Niekawa Haruna, I believe I told you about her?"

Roppi leaned forward as his eyes sparked in interest, as expected of the Monster Otaku, "The girl behind the Slasher incident. You're planning on turning the Azuki into Saika puppets?"

Izaya grinned, "Temporarily. We only need to isolate Masaru to make him easier to capture and deliver him to the Awakusu."

"Capture? I thought we were going to kill him. Or maim the asshole at least."

Izaya waggled a disapproving finger at him, "Now, now, Roppi-chan. I know you want to pay them back, and we will, but we need to be smart about it. What's the point of getting rid of one block, when we want to topple the whole tower? Right now, we're missing key information about the Yodogiri group. First, we don't know how many people are in charge, or operating under Yodogiri Jinnai's name if you will. If we want to overthrow their organization, we need to hit everyone on top. Second, we don't know where their base is. A group like theirs that's large and systematic need a place where their people would gather to regroup. Once we figure that out, they're good as ours. Ideally, I wanted a mole in the Yodogiri group, but this far in the game, getting someone to infiltrate the group will be impossible. We're going to use Masaru-kun for that. He's going to lead us right to them."

"You think he'll sell out his group?

"Hmm, no. I wouldn't count on it. Which is why he'll be our mole and he won't even know it. Masaru is a loose cannon in the group. He was working independently when he challenged us. That much is obvious. He is also too knowledgeable to be expendable. So if we capture him, the Yodogiri group is sure to retrieve him, not knowing he'll be bugged. We'll hand the location to the Awakusu group and they'll handle the rest. The Yodogiri group will be in tatters once Awakusu is done with them. If there are any stragglers by the end, I'll let you stomp them out, how's that?"

Roppi smirked, "Sounds fun for a change."

---

Dollars forum

Subject: May 4th Crazy Incidents Discussion!

Sender: Warden

Message: Last night was insane

Sender: MONTA

Message: Yeah, looks like Dollars is taking policing gang violence into their own hands.

Sender: Pandora's Panty Box

Message: Kinda messed up, but at least the streets will be safer.

Sender: Fruits Punch Samurai

Message: Forget that! Did you see that car chase? There were gunshots and everything! Like something straight out of an action movie.

Sender: Seruru

Message: Yakuza?

Sender: Red Carpet

Message: Yeah, probably Awakuzu. They were on high alert yesterday. They had guys everywhere. I avoided their turf last night. Didn't want to cause trouble. Looks like they got some anyway.

Sender: Gaki

Message: For sure. Seems like Heiwajima Shizuo got involved too.

Sender: Warden

Message: Yeah, he really put his foot down this time.

Sender: Fruits Punch Samurai

Message: Ugh, was that a pun?

Sender: Roppongi Station

Message: I don't get it. What did he do?

Sender: Asanuma

Message: [Video link] Here's some footage, he was going to stomp on the car but went and picked it up instead. While it was driving!

Sender: Pandora's Panty Box

Message: Omg so badass!

Sender: Haruko

Message: There's even a video of him dashing away with someone in a princess carry afterwards. What is he, a full time superhero now? Lol.

Sender: Tsukishima Station

Message: Who was he carrying?

Sender: Youko

Message: Orihara Izaya

Sender: Kahlua Milk

Message: Send. Me. The. Link. PLEASE.

Sender: Tsukumoya

Message: [Video link] Here you go~

Sender: Tsukishima Station

Message: Oh no! What happened to him?

Sender: Rabisan

Message: Wait, that's not right. I saw Orihara Izaya running through the streets around the same time at the other side of the city.

Sender: Miho

Message: Uh? No? He was stabbed near Sunshine 60 and Heiwajima carried him away.

Sender: Roppongi Station

Message: Maybe you mistook someone else for him.

Sender: Akie

Message: No, I saw him too! He was running through the streets, making a huge scene. He even got hit by a car and kept running like he didn't even notice!

Sender: Pandora's Panty Box

Message: Zombizaya? Lolll

Sender: Gaki

Message: Bullshit

Sender: Young Leaf

Message: [Video link] Look here. Doesn't look like they're lying.

Sender: Red Carpet

Message: Holy shit. That's him alright.

Sender: Young Leaf

Message: And check the timestamps. Same date and time, two different parts of the city. It's true.

Sender: Warden

Message: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?

Sender: Haruko

Message: Why are there two of him?!

Sender: Asanuma

Message: Twins?

Sender: Pandora's Panty Box

Message: Fake.

Sender: Seruru

Message: It might be fake everyone. Don't overthink it.

Sender: Kahlua Milk

Message: Omg two Izayas?

Sender: Roppongi Station

Message: It's video editing. Don't fall for it.

Sender: Kahlua Milk

Message: Kyaaaaaa two Izayas means 3P! Double Izayan action for Shizu-Shizu? So hot!

Sender: MONTA

Message: Uh...what?

Sender: Saika

Message: Maybe one is an imposter?

Sender: Tsukumoya

Message: Ouuu, which is the fake?

Sender: Pandora's Panty Box

Message: Guys, this whole thing is fake!

Sender: Warden

Message: I dunno about that… I'm making another thread for this! Let's discuss this Twinzaya thing there!

---

An apartment building off of Nagoya highway

The apartment was quiet in contrast to the night before. Shinra was still half asleep; he'd wake up fully in a few minutes, so Celty decided to get breakfast started. She walked past the spare room, the girls were asleep in the futon, their brother resting on the bed. Celty made her way to the kitchen, spotting Shizuo dozing on one of the couches. A tarp formed by her shadows covered the broken window, making the living room darker than usual for this time of day. Celty loaded the rice cooker and fried a couple of eggs. As she prepared the soup and salad side dishes, she glanced over to where Shizuo still lay sleeping. Luckily the smaller couch was the one that was soiled and stripped of its bloodied cushions, rather than the big one, so Shizuo was able to use it to sleep comfortably.

Shizuo began to stir at the smell of food. He groaned and pushed himself up. He rubbed a hand over his face, blinking at the covered window, "What time is it?"

Celty walked to him with her PDA in hand, [It's 8:30, breakfast is almost ready if you want to get freshened up first.]

"Yeah." He mumbled. "I'll check on Izaya first."

Celty nodded, [Take your time]

She watched as he walked towards the room where the Orihara siblings were sleeping. The two sisters shuffled out greeting him as he passed by, then hurried to Celty where they eagerly asked what was for breakfast.

As the girls finished their meals and claimed the TV area, Shizuo reappeared from the hallway.

"He's up," Shizuo said as he joined Celty at the table, "He said he's not hungry now, so I'll take it in a bit."

[Okay,] Celty typed, [It's still strange to see you get along with Izaya. I guess it'll take some time to get used to it]

"Yeah," Shizuo scoffed, "I can hardly believe it. I guess all it took was that lying flea to open up and be honest for once for me to like him."

Celty slumped in her seat. She knew whatever Izaya was feeding him was far from the truth. Shizuo didn't deserve being lied to and having his heart played with like this.

"To be honest, I'm tired. I've been tired of fighting. I have been for a long time. But I didn't think I had a choice. I thought the only way to keep him from being a little shit was to kick his ass…but now, I know he's not always like that, and that means I don't always have to kick his ass."

[But dating? Isn't that sudden?]

"Maybe. But it feels right. We're both interested in each other that way. So why not? This way, we can keep each other in check" Shizuo pushed the food in his bowl around, absorbed in thought, "Before, I used to think he was just a selfish creep that didn't care about anyone. Then I started to see another side to him. He actually cares about stuff, he works hard, he gets lonely, he's even cute sometimes. Though, that barely makes up for his bad traits, it's enough for me. Knowing that, I feel like I can control my anger better now...with him. If I can change from being a monster, then who's to say Izaya won't change from being a complete piece of shit?"

[You're not a monster Shizuo, you've always been a good person. It's different.]

"...well maybe Izaya has that in him too. He just needed a chance."

Celty sighed. Yes everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves. But the thing is, Izaya didn't earn that chance. Roppi did it for him. And that wasn't fair.

---

Tsukishima found that keeping himself busy was how he dealt with most of his issues. For instance, when he was lonely, he would chat or explore the internet, and distract himself. Exploring websites was a very different experience to Tsuki than it was to others. If he had to explain it in a way we would understand, it was like every website took a physical manifestation that he could explore, like a store or a plaza. It was like every URL was another trip to a crazy bazaar with things for him to discover in every nook and cranny.

When he was bored, he would make changes to his program allowing him more freedom.

Sometimes he would do a combination of both.

Emilia's program allowed him to move in a digital environment, and he was able to manipulate it. So Tsuki looked on game forums and digital environment development how-to-videos and found out how to build things in his little world.

So he built a city. Or parts of one at least. A city that his favorite person loved visiting.

He wondered how Roppi would react when he saw his virtual version of Ikebukuro when it's completed.

Tsuki imagined it wasn't exactly accurate, or realistic, since he hasn't physically seen or touched anything beyond what was inputted into his sensor pad. But he'd say it looked pretty true to the pictures. Roppi had been sending him photos too, which was even more helpful.

Tsukishima didn't stop there. With a lot of free time and a plethora of information at his fingertips, he learned how to "network" himself. And quite literally connect himself to other computers and devices. And by doing that, he was able to send himself to another machine by sending a small packet of his data and use it as a foothold to explore. Other programs, devices, cameras, microphones, all accessible for his insatiable curiosity. It didn't feel like he was doing something entirely legal. But a chat buddy by the name Tsukumoya, who helped him discover this talent, assured Tsuki that it was fine. Tsuki only hoped that he wasn't saying that to make him feel better. To be honest, he had gotten a little addicted to 'traveling' so he didn't want to find out for himself. And because he was unsure of the legality, he didn't mention this particular ability to Roppi yet.

So, since last night was particularly stressful, Tsuki needed to distract himself again with a bit of traveling.

He was the first to wake up. He glanced around the virtual room he built to reflect his room in Shingen's apartment in the real world.

Speaking of which…

With a wave of his hand, he opened a floating window in front of him that displayed the feed of his webcam in his room in the real world.

Tsuki smiled softly as he saw Emilia and Shingen sleeping soundly in the bed. They really needed the rest, they had it worse than he did.

Roppi fell asleep on the chair next to his table with his jacket carelessly thrown over himself. Tsuki chuckled, and really wanted to adjust it so it covered him properly.

It seemed like Roppi wasn't sleeping soundly. Tsuki remembered he fell asleep still feeling particularly pissed. It was plain to see with the way his eyebrows would pinch and he'd shift and clench his fists. Roppi was clearly having a bad dream. It worried Tsuki, but also he was completely enthralled. The way his dark lashes softly brushed his cheeks. Even the way Roppi's chest rose and fell in time with his soft breaths that past his parted lips...

"Gaaah!" Tsuki immediately closed the window, face burning.

"Oh my god." Tsuki mumbled with his face in his hands as he sped out of the room, as if the distance would make him feel less embarrassed. He stepped out of the replica of Shingen and Emilia's apartment and looked out into the half finished city of his own design.

Tsuki let out a muffled sigh, face still cradled in his hands.

He was a mess when it came to Roppi. He knew it. He couldn't run from it. Even though he knew Roppi was interested in Heiwajima Shizuo, Tsuki's feelings haven't changed. He decided he would support Roppi's crush on Shizuo. Because Roppi's happiness was more important than Tsukishima's own selfish feelings. Yet, no matter how much he tried to repress it, there was a small part of him that still hoped Roppi would return his feelings one day. But it was fine, whether Roppi loved him back or not. Loving Roppi was just a part of him now. As long as he could spend any time with Roppi, Tsuki would be happy.

So he'd have to deal with his feelings and try not to make it too obvious. Especially in times like the night before when Roppi looked so cool…

"I'm getting sidetracked." Tsuki groaned as he remembered what he woke up early to do.

He swiped his hand upward opening another window with the Dollars website. He expertly searched through the forums in a matter of seconds for any updates.

Tsuki and Roppi had read that Izaya had been stabbed, but they were both preoccupied with trying to contain the "Izaya twins" rumor that was spreading like wildfire all across the net. People even dragged Izaya's twin sisters into the argument as evidence that twins ran in the family. Roppi wasn't as worried about those rumors as much as the conspiracy theorists that suggested Izaya paid to clone himself or something similar. Those theories hit a little too close to home.

Through the drama and ruckus, they forgot about checking up on Izaya. But that's what Tsuki was going to do now.

Before all this, he managed to ping Izaya's phone's IP through previous chat messages, so he already "knew the way", so to speak. Tsuki closed his eyes and focused on the unique address that would lead him to Izaya's phone.

"Got it" and Tsuki pinpointed his location.

He pulled up another window to visually navigate Izaya's phone. The device was guarded with password locks and fail-safes. But Tsuki was admittedly good at getting around that, to his own chagrin. He essentially swatted away the security and went to access the camera. Surprisingly, the phone was in use when he took a peek through the phone's front facing camera.

A face that looked shockingly similar to Roppi stared back at him in bewilderment.

"...Shizu-chan..?"

Tsuki, who was not prepared to come face-to-face with a lucid Izaya was at a loss for words, so he immediately started rambling, [Izaya-san! Oh thank God. I heard what happened...I was worried… but you're okay? Mostly I guess, by the looks of it. Ahaha, um...I feel silly now…]

Izaya blinked slowly, "Not...what I was expecting when my phone's firewall went down."

[Oh, sorry. I sort of...I know, this is um. I was just worried and so was Roppi-san, I wanted to check up on you. I'm sorry for invading your privacy!] Tsuki said bowing deeply.

"Roppi, huh?" Izaya's frown turned into a smirk, "Then, you must be Tsukishima, right? Nice to finally meet you. Seriously, you really do look like Shizu-chan."

Tsukishima snapped his head back up with wide eyes then bowed again, [Yes, I'm Tsukishima, it's nice to finally meet you too Izaya-san! I'm so sorry I forgot to introduce myself!]

Izaya laughed, before groaning and placing his hand over his bandaged wound. "It's too funny to see Shizu-chan apologize so sincerely. If you keep amusing me like this, I'll let you visit me whenever you like."

Tsuki smiled sheepishly, [Then, I'll call ahead from now on.] His smile faded when his eyes strayed to where Izaya clutched his side. [It was Yodogiri, right?]

Izaya stroked the white wrappings at his side, "Yeah. I pushed the leader, Akiyama Shin, to attack me. It was either this or something much worse. So I went with the former."

Tsuki blanched, [Izaya-san, why?! What could be worse than nearly getting yourself killed?]

A pensive look crossed Izaya's face. "Can you really not think of anything?"

[...] Tsuki opened his mouth to retort that no, Izaya shouldn't treat his life so cheaply, when he thought of one thing for which he'd throw his own life away without a second thought. [Were you protecting someone important to you?]

"In a way, yes, and if this little papercut was the only price I had to pay, then that's one hell of a bargain."

[Would Heiwajima Shizuo say the same, knowing you threw your life away for his sake?]

Izaya sighed as he leaned back into his pillow, "What do you take me for, some tragic hero? That's not what happened at all. Yodogiri was going to tell him about Roppi, and I couldn't let that happen. Simple as that."

Tsukishima frowned, he didn't exactly buy that excuse, but left it alone, [That was reckless Izaya-san. Please refrain from putting yourself in harm's way in the future. You have people who care about you.]

Izaya let out a huff of air and responded with a tone that dripped with incredulity, "Do I?"

Tsuki nodded seriously, [I'd imagine Heiwajima Shizuo extremely upset. Roppi-san would be sad too, and myself as well.]

"Hmm, Is that so? I thank you for that." Izaya chucked, "Speaking of you two, how're things on your end? I see that you've both been busy suppressing rumors." He said tapping at his phone. Tsuki saw that he pulled up the Dollars forum page.

He knew that Izaya was changing the subject, but he let it slide again. They've only just met, and he didn't want to push him with sensitive topics.

[Ah, yeah. Roppi may have been hasty, coming to our rescue as flashy as he did. Don't misunderstand me though! I'm thankful no one was hurt! But it looks like both of you made some big scenes last night. Everyone connected the dots and realized there's two of you. They're all talking about the mysterious Izaya dopplegangers.]

"Hmm. We need to lay low for the time being until this dies down. Which is perfect timing. We've dealt a critical blow to the Last Boss, he won't be rearing his ugly head anytime soon. Shiki just told me that the Awakuzu-kai located their headquarters and has eliminated everyone on site. According to the information they got from the wire I planted on Masaru-kun, there are four main people playing as Yodogiri, as I suspected. And now, we have all their names. On top of that, they lost all their manpower overnight, and Yodogiri Masaru was among the bodies."

[Well...at least that gives you time to heal.]Tsuki said. He wasn't comfortable enough to congratulate Izaya for a job well done when the result was the death of a lot of people. Criminals, yes, but still people. [There's probably a lot more loose ends to tie up still, right?]

"Yeah, I'll need Roppi, or maybe Kida and Saki to keep an eye out for the other three. Akiyama and his other two underlings are still at large, and it would be unfortunate if they recovered more manpower after all the hard work we've done. Shizuo and a co-worker of his helped me cut off their other ties, so recruiting more people after last night will be next to impossible, but better safe than sorry."

[If you need me to do anything, I'm happy to help. As you can see, I have a big reach to any digital device. I can go anywhere you need so you don't have to.]

Izaya blinked then snorted, "Oy, oy. Careful who you offer your services to. Anyone would abuse a power like that." Izaya wanted to shake his head. This guy was unbelievably carefree if he was comfortable enough to spill a secret like that. If he really had such capabilities, Tsukishima could feasibly break into any computer, any security camera, any encrypted device. People would be quick to misuse that ability. Roppi would lose his mind if he heard Tsukishima was getting used for something illegal...or used at all.

Tsukishima shrugged and waved him off, [That's true. But I'm not that naive to let myself be used for bad things. Besides, I trust you.]

The informant raised an eyebrow, "I'm the least trustworthy person, Tsuki-kun. Anyone could tell you that."

Tsuki gave him a knowing smile, [If you were planning on using me, you wouldn't have warned me first.]

Izaya snorted and rolled his eyes. "You are too optimistic for your own good."

[One of my better traits I hear.]

"Izaya, you awake?"

Tsuki and Izaya flinched as another voice interrupted their conversation. The real Heiwajima Shizuo walked into the room. His hair was still messy from sleep.

"Who're you talking to?" he asked.

"No one, Shizu-chan." Izaya smiled as he tossed the phone to the side. It landed faced-down on the bed, slightly inclined by Izaya's pillow.

Shizuo hummed, "You shouldn't be calling people already. You should just rest, idiot. I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"Excuse me?" Izaya laughed then winced, "This is an all time low to be called stupid by a man with a single brain cell."

Tsuki was slightly disgruntled that he wasn't able to see anything. He switched the view to the rear-facing camera. He saw Heiwajima Shizuo walk into the room. The man looked exactly as he did in photos and videos he'd seen online. Shizuo had an impressive presence and carried himself with a laid-back confidence that Tsuki lacked.

'It suits him well,' Tsuki thought, 'No wonder Roppi-san fell for him.'

Shizuo sat on the edge of Izaya's bed. He sat quietly for a beat, just looking at Izaya with an unreadable expression.

"What?" Izaya asked, "What's with the look, Shizu-chan?"

"Nothin'..." Shizuo shrugged, "You're just...surprisingly fragile."

Izaya clicked his tongue unhappily, "Well, not all of us are immune to bullets and blades like you."

"I don't like it." Shizuo grumbled with a frown, "You could've died."

Izaya's frown faded. He studied Shizuo's face before asking him with the surprise evident on his face, "You're worried about me?"

"...yeah. Just finding you like that...I didn't think it was possible for you to get hurt. After all those times we fought, you never got hurt like that. You weren't moving, and there was a lot of blood-" Shizuo let out a breath and closed his eyes.

"Hey," Izaya whispered, putting his hand over Shizuo's, "I'm fine. Something like this won't kill me. Heh, fighting you has done wonders to my recovery time and my pain tolerance."

Shizuo leaned in and gave Izaya a soft, lingering kiss. Tsuki covered his mouth to muffle the surprised squeak that threatened to leave his lips. Now he really felt like he was intruding.

When they parted, Shizuo started asking him something about breakfast, but Tsuki didn't hang around long enough to listen further.

Tsuki closed the window and sighed.

They looked at each other with such intense feeling, it was clear to see how much they meant to each other. It was obviously something that they have been festering for years, but neither of them seemed to have noticed. It was a shame that they only now realized how important they were to each other.

They were so comfortable with each other too. They've only started dating a few days ago, and yet the way Shizuo nonchalantly leaned in to kiss Izaya was so effortless. Tsuki envied them. He wished he could be that forward and just kiss Roppi like that. Two things were wrong with that dream. One, he was stuck in the digital plane, and two, Roppi only thought of him as a friend.

Tsuki turned towards the half finished city. He traced the skyline with his eye, thinking that this was the sight that Roppi would see when he walked out of the apartment in the real world.

Maybe one day, they can be connected just like those two. One day.

---

It was the second day of Izaya's stay. Shizuo had left, assured he would be in good hands. Izaya sent his sisters home as well, also sure that Akiyama wouldn't target them now. Not that he was going to admit he was protecting them, he played it off as if he was trying to inconvenience them by keeping them cooped up. But the girls had a knowing look in their eyes as they left.

Izaya himself was dressed and ready to leave.

[Are you sure you're good to move? You've only had a little over a day's rest.]

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome. Besides, you're not too thrilled at having me over anyway. Right?" He sent her a smirk over her shoulder, taking in her rigid posture.

Celty only crossed her arms, not bothering to lift her PDA to answer the obvious.

Izaya snickered, "Well, I'm ready. Shall we?"

They left the apartment. The two of them didn't concern themselves with small talk on the way to her bike, but Izaya did give her the address to the place he rented in Ikebukuro where he sent Roppi the night before. She conjured a sidecar for him and tossed him an extra helmet. Once they both were on the bike, the engine brayed to life and they were off.

As they rode, Celty subtly peered at Izaya from time to time to gauge if he did in fact change as a person like Shizuo claimed. His face was carefully blank as he scrolled through messages on his phone. He's always been good at hiding his true nature, so it was probably impossible to tell. She was 85% sure that he didn't change at all and he was taking advantage of Roppi's interactions with Shizuo to toy with him. Maybe 90% sure.

"You disapprove of my relationship with Shizu-chan. That much is obvious."

Celty flinched. So much for subtle.

"You're probably thinking, am I toying with him or do I genuinely care for him? What a fun train of thought, I'd hate to spoil it by giving you the answer."

Celty resisted the urge to hit the brakes to jerk him forward. He was injured after all.

"I get it. The timing is suspicious. Right when Roppi shows up, Shizu-chan and I are suddenly a thing? Plus, I don't have the best track record for integrity." Izaya's side-eyed her with a smug grin, "But in the end, your doubts towards me don't matter. You're not the type to sabotage our relationship, even if you don't like me. Especially since you're a good friend of Shizu-chan, and you can see how carefree he is now that we're not fighting. You wouldn't want to take that away from him."

Celty fumed as she pulled up to the address that Izaya provided. She whipped out her PDA and started to furiously type.

[Just what are you planning to do with Shizuo?]

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe some lovey-dovey things? Should I start dotting on him like Shinra dotes on you? Maybe then you can forgive me for being such a shitty person? Or is that shitty-person-bias only applicable to Shinra?"

Celty clenched her fists. A test of patience. This was a test of patience.

Izaya stiffly climbed out of the sidecar with a smirk that clearly wasn't innocent, and yet nowhere close to guilty.

He can dodge the question and distract her with insults all he wants. Celty wasn't going to lose her cool and give in to his goading. For Shizuo's sake.

[Do you really love him?]

Izaya gave her a hard stare, "I don't recall ever saying that. I'm only interested in Shizu-chan, saying I love him is a little ridiculous. Up until recently, it was the opposite you know?"

[Your sisters seem to insist otherwise. With evidence that Shinra backed up.]

Izaya clicked his tongue in annoyance, "They don't know what they're talking about."

[So you don't like him?]

"It's a secret~!"

Celty's utter lack of amusement was clear in her posture, [If you're doing this to hurt him, I won't forgive you.]

Izaya sighed, "Yes, yes. You've made your point." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Here's your pay for driving me, Courier. I put Shinra's fee for closing me up in there too."

Celty accepted the envelope. She quickly counted the cash inside, then stashed it in her suit with a satisfied nod.

She looked back at Izaya, considering the man for a moment. Surely he didn't think he could lie to Shizuo forever? What was he thinking?

[You know Dollars are talking about two Izayas running around last night? It's only a matter of time Shizuo sees the posts. Since he's in Dollars too.]

"I've taken some precautions," Izaya said as he pulled out Shizuo's phone from his pocket.

Celty started in shock, [When did you ...?]

"The other night while he was rushing to your place. He was a little preoccupied getting us there, he didn't notice I woke up in between. Saw a chance and took it. Good thing too. Yodogiri had some people on standby waiting to call Shizu-chan. I intercepted five calls already."

[You...How long are you planning to keep this up?]

"...As long as I can." He tossed the phone to her, which she fumbled to catch. "You can give that back to Shizu-chan when you see him next. I'm not going to make you lie to him. You can tell him I had it, and leave it at that."

Izaya turned and walked to the building, "I'll let you know if I'll be needing your services again."

Celty watched him go. Was he truly so confident that he thought he could live a lie throughout their relationship or did he not care either way because this was just a cruel prank on Shizuo?

No… Would he go through all that trouble to steal Shizuo's phone to keep the secret from him? It would make more sense to let him figure it out if it was a prank, especially if hurting or angering Shizuo was his goal.

She shook her head and revved her bike. Whatever it was, Celty knew it was only a matter of time for the truth to come out. And Izaya had to deal with the consequences.

---

The elevator whirred as it brought Izaya to his floor. It wasn't a fancy building like his in Shinjuku. It was only meant as a temporary hideout and red herring if Yodogiri was looking for Celty's head. Now that he stole it, it didn't matter. But luckily, it was a perfect place to rest without having to travel to a city over. Izaya would've passed out on the ride to Shinjuku, and that wasn't a good look. Izaya pressed a hand against the bandages at his side. The wound wasn't hurting that badly as Shinra was decent enough to give him some pain medication. His body was also pretty quick to heal, and it was well along the healing process than most people would be in his situation. But he still needed some rest.

The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened with a chime.

He trudged to the apartment, fishing his pockets for a key. Roppi was probably staying at Shingen's apartment, which granted Izaya a few nights of peace and quiet.

He slid the key in the lock and opened the door.

"Welcome home."

Izaya's hand twitched to grab his switchblade, until his brain caught up with his ears and recognized the voice.

Izaya pushed the door open all the way and caught sight of Roppi sitting casually on the living room armchair.

Izaya sighed, "I thought you would be at Shingen's."

"I was, for a few nights. But you assigned me to stay here until you said otherwise. So, when I was sure Tsuki and the rest were safe, I came back. Besides, Shingen was getting irritating again."

"You're irritating when you are unpredictable." Izaya mumbled as he rested himself on the couch, "You decide to listen to me and ignore me at random, I never know what to expect from you next."

The corner of Roppi lip went up in a self-satisfied smirk.

Izaya draped himself along the couch seats and asked, "So? What do you really want? I know you didn't come here just to do your job."

Silence followed his question. The two men engaged in an unspoken standoff from across the small room. The last time they saw each other was at the Awakusu Art Gallery, and they were angry at each other. The time before that, Roppi sunk his fist into Izaya's gut.

Many events transpired between then and now. And it's a question where they both stood.

"Talk to me about Shizuo."

"Why? You want to get the juicy details to fuel your dreams?"

"I don't care about that...you can have him. You need him more than I do."

"...how gracious of you."

"I didn't mean it like that." Roppi groaned, "You're impossible to talk to."

"Thanks, I make it my job."

"How is being impossible to talk to make you a good informant?!"

"I'll have you know people pay me to keep quiet too."

Roppi's eyebrow twitched. The only evidence that Izaya was successfully irritating him. "I see what you're doing Izaya. Stop avoiding the topic. Tell me what makes Shizuo special to you. I just...want to understand."

Izaya opened his mouth to argue, but he felt tired all of a sudden. He just sighed.

"Because he is. He's fascinating. Happy?"

"How is he fascinating?" A flat stare answered that question. "Pretend I don't know him." Roppi added.

Izaya scoffed, "First of all, anyone who hasn't heard of Shizu-chan is an idiot, lives under a rock or both, therefore this hypothetical question is stupid. But if I'm humoring you, what is fascinating about Shizu-chan is that he's a beast, in every sense of the word. Yet, if you think of him as such, you will never understand him. And that's why I never did."

Every prank, every plan, every foresight, Shizuo was there to throw everything out of order. It was like the universe made him specifically to counter Izaya. Shizuo's brawn, Izaya's brain. They were never a match for each other, yet foiled each other's daily life constantly.

"He was a challenge for me. Like a ticking time bomb in the middle of a minefield. The thrill of it always excited me."

Roppi tilted his head processing his words, "You're speaking in past tense. What changed?"

"I knew I'd regret mentoring you," Izaya said with a roll of his eyes, "What changed…I can't say that I know. I think change was inevitable. I had to get smarter, sneaker, quicker to even stand a chance against him. There was nothing else that challenged me like he did, and I suppose I wouldn't be half of who I am today without him in my life. At a point, I knew he was changing me, and I didn't care."

Izaya quietly knocked his head against the couch cushion over and over again. He was talking so much. Why was he opening up so much?

Against his better judgement, he continued, because it felt nice to get these bottled up feelings out for once.

"I don't know if it was just me, or if he felt it too. But I felt we always had an understanding of each other. We were two outcasts that didn't fit with anyone else. But we fit with each other when we fought. I would catch these looks he'd give me, like I was his only focus. And it grounded me, it gave me...something. Life? Purpose? Who knows. Giving that feeling a single word would be reductive, but I would chase that feeling like it was a drug."

It was a high that Izaya didn't think he deserved, but chased anyway.

"But, I had screwed up one too many times. Pushed him too far. And I got him to really, truly hate me. Those playful fights turned into full blown wars. And I realized, Shizuo would never love me back."

Izaya choked on the air in surprise when he realized the "L" word slipped past his lips. His eyes immediately went to Roppi who didn't blink an eye.

"I had a feeling it was something like that." Roppi mused, "It's strange. You're telling me all of this for the first time, but I felt like I knew it all along."

Izaya pursed his lips, "Then why ask?"

Roppi lifted a shoulder in a shrug, "To make sure it was true. And to make sure you knew how much he means to you. You're capable of feeling for another person and developing attachment to others. I know you feel like you can't, because you barely acknowledge your feelings. And I know you enjoy your cover of 'I love all humans equally' to prevent yourself from getting attached to someone, but you did. And he's attached to you too. I guess...I wanted to show you that you don't have to worry so much about hiding how you feel. I may have overreacted the other day when I punched you for not admitting your feelings for Shizuo. It's not easy to admit what you feel when you had to put walls up to protect yourself all these years."

Izaya stared at his twin for a moment. He expected to be made fun of or to be questioned for the inconsistencies in his thoughts, feelings and actions. But instead, Roppi simply listened. And it sounded like he was trying to give him support. Izaya could safely say that this was the first time that someone had done that for him, from a genuine stance. Izaya was grateful to now have someone like Roppi in his life.

"Thanks."

Roppi blinked, "What are you thanking me for? I'm only apologizing."

Izaya smirked, "Thanks anyway."

Roppi recognized the familiar exchange, one they had a long time ago. He scoffed and a rare smile graced his lips, "Shut up, asshole."

---

Six days later, an unnamed road in Ikebukuro

"Izaya had it, huh?" Shizuo said as he turned his phone in his hand that Celty brought to him, "Must'a left it in the room or something. Thanks."

[No problem, sorry I couldn't bring it to you earlier.] Celty apologized.

"It's fine, I've been busy too. Barely use it outside of work anyway, and work leant me one until I got a new one or found mine." Shizuo looked through the missed calls, there weren't many for a phone that wasn't checked in a week.

"How's Izaya anyway?" He asked as he pocketed his phone, "I came by and Shinra said he left a few days ago. I only had his number on here, so I couldn't contact him."

[Yeah, he left. I can send you the address if you want to see him? It's an apartment in the area]

"Yeah, I appreciate it."

Celty texted the address to him before she bade him goodbye to get back to work. Shizuo read the address and hummed. It was about a 10 minute walk. He could drop by to surprise him before heading home.

It would've been a peaceful walk, if only a strange man in a suit didn't try to stop him.

He stepped in front of him with a pleasant smile, "Heiwajima Shizuo, I presume? My name is…"

"Not interested in buying anything." Shizuo dismissed, not even giving the man a second glance.

"Wha-hey! I'm not trying to sell you anything!"

Shizuo kept walking.

"Orihara Izaya is lying to you!"

Shizuo stopped.

"Heh, I thought that might get your attention. Let's start again, my name is…"

"What do you mean he's lying to me?" Shizuo questioned, turning back to face the man.

"If you would let me..." the man looked like he was about to scold Shizuo for repeatedly interrupting him, until Shizuo strode back to him. Now that he stood right in front of him, the man realized how tall the debt collector was in person. And this man knew of Shizuo's fearful reputation. He gulped as Shizuo pinned him with an unimpressed glare. "I...uh...um…."

Shizuo clicked his tongue, "If you're wasting my time, I'm going to get pissed. You have one minute. Talk."

Now this might have sounded rude to anyone listening to their conversation in passing. But in reality, Shizuo was being as polite as he could manage in this situation. This is because, on the contrary to what he said, he had already lost his patience and was pissed at the man. Normally, he would've just punched him and be done with it, but he restrained himself because he wanted to hear what the man had to say about Izaya.

"I get it! Loud and clear!" The man gulped, "Orihara Izaya hasn't been truthful to you, you must have noticed his behavior is weird sometimes right? Like he's a different person?"

"...yeah. I've noticed." Shizuo knew about his alter ego. He remembered that Izaya said was a private matter. It was caused by some mental disorder that he didn't want others to know about. Was this guy digging for info?

"Have you ever wondered why?"

"I know why." Shizuo snapped. "What's it to you?"

"I don't think you do, Heiwajima-san" the man smirked with renewed confidence. A gesture Shizuo didn't appreciate in the least.

Shizuo's hands balled into fists, "If you have something to say, say it in 20 words or less. You have thirty seconds left."

The man blanched, "Okay sorry! Whatever he told you was a lie! He doesn't have mood swings or a disorder like he claims!"

The blond narrowed his eyes, "How the hell did you know that?"

The man sighed, "As I tried to say before, I work for the information broker, Yodogiri Jinnai. My name is…"

Shizuo's hand shot out and grabbed the man's shirt. He squeaked as he was lifted up.

"Let me get this straight. You work for Yodogiri Jinnai?"

"U-Uh, yes."

Perhaps if the man had left that tidbit of information out and simply delivered the full message like he was supposed to, he may have succeeded. He may have thought dropping that name would increase the success of convincing Shizuo, when it actually had the opposite effect. It was a shame, Shizuo truly wanted to hear what the man had to say, since he still had doubts about Izaya in the back of his head. But since Shizuo was already at his limit, and hearing the name of the man who targeted Kasuka and his girlfriend, kidnapped a little girl, and stabbed Izaya, sent him over the edge.

Shizuo inhaled through his nose, "I realize he might get this message late, but when you wake up, tell Yodogiri Jinnai something for me."

"S-Sure? Wait, what do you mean when I wake up?"

"Tell him I'm going to send him flying next."

Shizuo was right. The man woke up from his coma four weeks later, after getting punched thirty meters in the air. And by that time, it was indeed too late to pass on the message.

---

"Are you sure you want to move around like that? It's only been a week. How long do humans take to heal from a stab wound again?"

Izaya stood from his bed and stretched lightly with a wince. He snorted at Roppi, "I'm a fast healer. Besides this wound was meant to cause maximum pain with minimal damage. Which is lucky, since it takes less time to heal without the organ damage anyway."

Roppi leaned against the window sill with his arms crossed. "That doesn't answer my question."

Izaya smiled, "I'll be fully healed in a week, probably. Shinra said I should be okay without bedrest around now anyway. So I'm fine, so don't fuss."

"I wouldn't have to fuss if you just stayed in bed like you're supposed to" Roppi frowned disapprovingly as Izaya continued to walk around the bedroom.

"Relax. I need to stretch my legs and keep my body active. It helps the healing."

"So does rest and a good meal."

Izaya gasped playfully,"Are you offering to go grab some Russia Sushi?"

Roppi sighed, "Fine. If you get back into bed and stay there until I get back."

"Stingy" Izaya pouted, but slipped back into bed with a cheeky grin "Fatty tuna bento, please and thank you~"

Roppi shook his head with a snort, "I'll know if you got out of bed. I'll be right back."

"Take care~"

He left the room and closed the door behind him. It was a relief that Izaya was almost healed up. It wasn't as if Roppi didn't think he wouldn't pull through, but it still affected him to see the usually unflappable man seriously injured. Roppi blamed himself a little. He was supposed to be the one facing the dangerous situations with his Plan B function that could save his life from most fatal injuries. With Izaya, there is no second chance. That idea scared him more than he thought it would.

So, Roppi resolved to keep him safe. He shook his head as he opened the front door with a grin on his face. He must be getting sentimental. How human.

"What are you doing up?"

Roppi swears his heart stopped when he stepped out of the apartment and came face to face with Heiwajima Shizuo. He looked equally as surprised to see Roppi, which is probably due to the fact Izaya was supposed to be bedridden, not walking about. Roppi forced himself to breathe, and collect his thoughts. He's going to need them to prevent Shizuo from going inside and finding Izaya, and discovering their secret.

"...Heiwajima-san...hi"

Shizuo blinked, "Oh, you're the other Izaya. It's been a while." The taller man shifted his weight between his feet awkwardly, "But seriously, just call me Shizuo. It sounds weird when you call me that."

"Okay...Shizuo." He tried to put on an easy smile, but Roppi's heart was hammering and it probably looked strained.

Shizuo looked him up and down. "You didn't answer me. Why are you up?"

"Uhh...Shinra said I should be healed by now, so I was heading out…" Roppi reasoned as he inched around Shizuo to the stairs. Shizuo's hand blocked his path before he went far.

"I just spoke with Shinra, and he said one more day of rest. Get back to bed."

He absolutely couldn't let Shizuo take him back. "I actually feel much better, so I'm just going to go."

Shizuo gave him a look, "You're going to heal up properly. I don't want to strain yourself for nothing. What's one more day of rest?"

Shizuo scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder. Roppi yelped and tried to push himself off, but Shizuo's arm kept him secure in place as he walked back into the apartment.

He gently let him down as soon as he closed the door behind him.

Roppi's face was bright red as he muttered, "You shouldn't be throwing injured people over your shoulder you know…"

Shizuo's face immediately shifted to concern, "Did I hurt you?"

His hand came to his hip close to where Izaya's wound would've been. And Roppi flinched at the touch.

"I-I'm fine."

Shizuo frowned again. "You should go sit down. You don't look so good." He didn't wait for an answer and lifted him again, carefully in a princess carry this time.

Roppi imagined Izaya would've called him a dumb oaf for manhandling him this many times in quick succession. But he couldn't find the was still red in the face and floundered on how to take control of the situation as Shizuo gently placed him on the couch and took a seat next to him.

"Just take it easy. I had a feeling you'd be restless before healing properly. Have you been alone this whole time? How have you been getting food?"

"I...had help." It was true. He looked after Izaya so he could rest like he should.

"You should've called me," Shizuo frowned at that. It made Roppi pause.

'Was he upset? Well, he did seem like the protective type.'

"I guess you couldn't, since I just got my phone back. But I'm here now, and I'm going to take care of you."

It was touching to hear, and Roppi felt a little tension leave his body, despite knowing it'll only make it harder to get Shizuo to leave.

Shizuo noticed him relax and smiled. It made Roppi's heart pound, yet ache. Then jump, when Shizuo started to lean in close. Too close.

"Wait, hang on!" Roppi placed his palms on Shizuo's chest pushing him slightly, "What're you doing? You're dating Izaya."

Shizuo chuckled, "It's the same thing right? You're just another part of him." He was unaware how wrong he was, before leaning forward again and pressing their lips together. And Roppi's mind skidded to a halt.

Roppi knew he should push him off, run, do something. But he was out of his depth. Shizuo's lips were so warm and firm, and moved against his in a manner that was utterly too distracting for him to get a solid thought in. It also didn't help that Roppi had wondered what kissing Shizuo would feel like.

Shizuo however was having a different reaction. His eyebrows drew together in confusion and pulled away from the kiss.

Roppi opened his eyes in a daze, cheeks flushed and lips parted. Shizuo stared at him for a long moment.

There was something off.

He pressed his lips against Roppi's again sliding his tongue into his mouth. The smaller man gasped as Shizuo explored his mouth with his tongue. Something...no, everything felt...off? The curve of his tongue, the feel of his lips, the shape of his mouth. Was he imagining things or…

Shizuo broke away quickly, leaving the raven blinking. Shizuo seized the hem of the man's shirt and shoved it up. He squeaked in protest as his body was revealed. On his stomach, there were no bandages. There wasn't even a stab wound.

Shizuo felt his temper rising.

"You're not Izaya." He growled as he released the imposter's shirt, "Who the fuck are you?"

Roppi blinked and his mouth gaped like a fish out of water. "I...uh, I...um…"

Shizuo's eyes dropped down to his chest again as the man's nervous hands fumbled to pull his shirt back down. There were some scars there, two in particular caught his eye. Remnants of two gunshot wounds in the chest. The same places where Izaya got shot that day. But no stab wound. The imposter finally yanked his shirt back down but Shizuo had already seen enough.

He thought back to when Shinra was patching Izaya up. He didn't remember seeing those gunshot wounds.

That meant it wasn't Izaya that got shot that day, it was this stranger. Shizuo remembered the words of that stranger from earlier.

"Whatever reason he told you it was a lie! He doesn't have mood swings or an alter ego like he claims!"

It wasn't a mental disorder. There were two Izayas.

Shizuo's head was spinning.

"I'm just happy, I got to meet you."

"What's this, are you blushing? I didn't know Shizu-chan was capable of being so cute."

"We'll be looking forward to working with you then."

"At least now, we can be a little more honest with each other. You're a brute and a monster, and I like you that way."

"Heiwajima-san"

"Shizu-chan~"

He lied. Izaya lied all along. That louse didn't change at all. It was someone else from the very beginning.

"I'll fucking kill him."

The imposter flinched, "No, wait-"

"IIIIIIIZAAAAAAAYAAAAAAAAA!"

Shizuo's roar seemed to shake the walls. He stood and kicked the couch away with ease, sending it crashing to the wall, Roppi barely had time to scramble off. Shizuo was off searching the apartment as his thundering footsteps shook the floor. It was like the man turned into a natural disaster, more fearsome than any earthquake or hurricane. "WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU, YOU LOUSE?!"

"NO!" Roppi pounced on Shizuo's back, yanking backwards with all his strength. He managed to make Shizuo stumble into the wall behind. Shizuo snarled and tried to swing him off, but he just wrapped his legs around his waist, locking himself in place. Shizuo just kicked himself off the wall in frustration, giving himself the momentum to continue charging to the room where Izaya was resting.

"SHIZUO STOP!" He yelled needlessly. It was more of a warning for Izaya than anything.

Shizuo burst inside with Roppi still clinging on his back. The room was empty. The bed was unmade and a blanket was dragged off the edge as if someone got out of it in a hurry. The window was open and the curtains blew gently in the breeze.

Shizuo was at the window in an instant. Below, the two of them could see a figure below, running away.

It was Izaya.

A twinge of fear ran through Roppi as he felt Shizuo growl in fury. Without a warning, Shizuo jumped out of the window with Roppi coming along for the fall. Roppi's yelp was drowned out by the nostalgic yell of Ikebukuro's strongest.

"IZAYAAAAAAA! STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU BASTARD!"

---

[Author's Note] First chapter of the final arc. The Yodogiri group is weakened, Izaya was stabbed, and most importantly, Shizuo KNOWS.

I just want to say thank you for everyone that has been patiently waiting for an update. I put this story on hold as I started my masters program. I was hoping to write during my downtime, but this program did not give me much of that, and I was loosing my motivation to continue as well. But since this quarantine, I've managed to sneak in more writing time, and I managed to finish a chapter. Honestly, it was the reviews and subscriptions and favorites that pulled me out of my slump and helped me finish this chapter. So a big thanks to you readers, the real MVPs.

Until next time

SNU