Hey guys sorry for the LOOONG OVER DUE AWAIT of chapter 8. Anyway enjoy
"Shizuo... hey... I'm sure you have plenty of questions..." the doctor talking to the easy temper triggered blond, however, Shinra had not to notice Shizuo's expression. "Look I know you're probably upset that I and Celty lied to you... but you need to understand that-" the doctor was cut off by a surprisingly quiet Shizuo voice.
"I did that to him..." Shizuo seeing Izaya in a wheelchair in shock, knew by the end of their last fight Shizuo 100% knew Izaya was in pretty bad shape. But he never expected to see his worst enemy in this condition. Sure I hate the flea... but after seeing him close to death in our last fight. It made me pity him a bit, also seeing it wasn't at all worth killing him anymore... but even though Verona helped... I still put him in that wheelchair... I didn't want this even though he deserves it... I... CRAP!
Shizuo feeling a rush of guilt and anger towards himself. Not paying any attention to the unlicensed doctor's words as he felt his feet move closer to the flea. Saki staying calm interested in seeing what Shizuo plans to do now that he sees Izaya like this. She figured he wouldn't bother hurting Izaya since the final battle between ended with Shizuo winning with having to physically kill Izaya. She stood there patiently as the blond was just a few inches from her and Izaya 2.0.
Izaya looks at the blond, it was clear the blond knows him for something... but he couldn't place it on his mind... but he can sense a close connection with him. Hmm... I feel like I should know him... like we have a huge history together. Was he my best friend from growing up? No... family member? Na... if he was he would have been with my sisters. wait... could he have been my-
Izaya being pulled out from his thoughts was when he hears. "I didn't mean for you to end up like this..." Shizuo says slightly frustrated but quietly. Like it felt very conflicting to him to say that. Izaya looks at the blond, he could barely see his eyes through the sun glasses but he can tell one thing, they were filled with self-loathing. Izaya struggling to put the pieces together of what the blond bartender meant.
"Go ahead say what you want! You have every right to hate me or do something horrible to me. I'm giving you a right to get even here! So go ahead call me what you think I am to you." Shizuo calling himself out on what happen to Izaya seeing the person he hates now has every right to hate him and curse at him or whatever else Izaya could possibly do to him. He just walked in front of him facing him face to face wait for the flea's response. Until he hears this.
"Wait... you put me in this wheelchair and... took my identity?..." Izaya stair at the tall blond in front of him, he tenses up a bit and glares then he glares at his legs. He still can't remember anything but this man and him have a history together, and whatever it was... it ended with him losing everything to the blond. "Saki let's go... now..." Izaya no longer wanting to be so near the man who claims to put him in his current situation. Saki nods as the stunned Shizuo watches Izaya wheeling away realizing that he permanently crushed the flea that night. Shinra rushes over to Shizuo's side.
"Yeah... I'm sorry I and Celty didn't tell you in the email... we weren't sure how to tell you the truth or if you'd believe it. But once you see it for your own eyes, it's still hard to believe..." Shinra says and the two watch saki and Izaya vanish into the city.
"So what are you saying... Why is he acting like he doesn't know me." Shizuo getting frustrated but he overall confused. Why would Izaya pretend to not know him. Is this his way of punishing him?! He wanted answers he follows his oldest and his most annoying friend to his appointment. Which is in the opposite direction of where the flea went, he even keeps glancing over his shoulder just to check.
"So you are saying... that he isn't really faking... he doesn't remember me... our fights... this city... nothing." Shizuo is just shocked he never wanted to do that, it felt worse than death to him.
"Well not entirely, nothing I mean he remembers how to speak, eat, even breath! I mean there's that..." Shinra trying to keep a positive outlook on these odd situations but even he wasn't selling it. He takes a heavy sigh "...but I doubt he'll remember anything any time for sure I mean... he rejected his favorite sushi." That surprised Shizuo he knew from Simon that Izaya loves the bitter-tasting sushi. Izaya would never fake that... So I took his memories...
The feared and tall blond stood still in shock he couldn't believe he did that to the flea. He killed Izaya without ever stopping his heart. "It's all my fault..." Shizuo blames himself. He couldn't blame Varona, she was only trying to protect him. Though still he couldn't help but blame himself.
When the doctor turns to look at Shizuo, but he was gone. Shinra was concerned seeing the blond gone but he was already running late for work. So he can only hope Shizuo doesn't do something stupid.
Saki was checking the time to see Masaomi and his friends should be going on break soon. She starts pushing Izaya to the school.
"You know, you can tell me how you feel about what you just learn..." Saki wanted to gain this version of Izaya's trust.
"I... um... I'm not sure how I should feel... I guess I'm just frustrated... not with that man Shizuo but... with myself... I just can't remember anything..." Izaya he did feel a bit better know who put him in this chair. But it didn't exactly lead to answers for him either. Izaya then looks and froze out of the corner of his eye the shadowy figure from this dream. Skipping in the street like he owns the place and he hears a laugh. It sounded like it should belong to him but it was twisted and unsettling to him. Especially seeing the skipping dark figure was dripping blood behind him. Izaya looks away from the street, from that imposter, and covers his ears with his hands to block out the sound of the laughing only growing louder.
Izaya felt like his heart rate was going up and his breathing was faster. It felt like everything was going a million miles an hour for him, and he wanted it to stop. He didn't notice the wheelchair stopping and hands grabbing his. He instead just snaps.
"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Izaya yells at Saki and froze seeing it was the girl just checking on him. Seeing that concerned and worried look pissed I'm off deep down, but he knew what he did was wrong and looks apologetic. "I... Saki I didn't mean to yell at you... I... I don't know what happened."
Izaya did feel genuinely sorry for yelling at Saki. He was yelling at the endless laughing in his head, which had finally quieted down. He looks down embarrassed for his behavior and he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey it's ok, you're stressed out... I mean you took in a lot of new information... Look we don't have to go see our friends if you don't feel up for it. We can go back to the apartment." Saki reassuring Izaya that she wasn't taking his outburst personally. And Izaya shakes his head no.
"No, I need to get some fresh air. And seeing some friendly faces would do me good. Maybe help my memories..." Izaya wanting to go through with this meeting. Hoping to fill more of the puzzle pieces of his mind.
After a few minutes, Saki and Izaya arrived outside the high school, to meet up with the three other teens. Izaya just tiled his head starring at the school. Did I go here? Huh, I figured it is bigger?... Nicer maybe?... Izaya looks curiously at the school honestly not drawing any memories. Then he notices Saki waving to three teens walking out of the building. He sees two males both about the same age and seems pretty slim. One has dyed blond hair while the other has black natural hair. The blond hair made him think of that guy from earlier. He slightly shakes his head of the thoughts of Shizuo away and looks to the teens, now that he thinks of it he then starts to wonder, Why am I hanging around so many minors… Izaya thought to himself awkwardly.
Alright, maybe it's not as weird as I think maybe they're friends of my sisters. Or neighbors of mine. Heck! Maybe one of the two with darker hair is like my cousin or something… That's got to be it. Izaya starts coming up with conclusions of how he knows these children hoping he's not some creepy guy who hangs around minors.
Mikado glances to the entrance as they leave to go meet with Saki for lunch and her guest that Masaomi had told them that she was bringing, but he refuses to tell them the name of the guest. But now seeing the once threatening info-broker combined to a wheelchair and with genuinely kind eyes and a smile. He was shocked to see such kindness coming from the once manipulative man, though he immediately felt Anri hold his hand tightly as if to protect him from the man that hand toyed with them so much.
"Hey, it's ok guys from what Saki said. He's not the man we used to know." Masaomi trying to reassure his friends that they're safe that Izaya won't pin them against each other as he did before. Anri gives him an unsure look raises her brow.
"What if he's just lying so he can get close to us again…" Anri asks with concern in her voice as Mikado pats her shoulder.
"We'll be ok. Let's go I get the feeling Masaomi is right." Mikado tells her as they get closer to Izaya and Saki and she smiles excitedly.
"Alright guys this is Izaya, please reintroduce yourselves to him as well… He doesnt remember anything." Saki informs them with a slight smile and Izaya chuckles a rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. Anri looks at the man she once held a lot of hatred for but even Saika can tell this is true. Izaya was a blank slate and she relaxes and holds out her hand to shake him.
"Hello, Izaya it's nice to see you again. I'm Anri Sonohara." Anri gives him a small smile as Izaya shakes hands with them and the rest introduce themselves. To him as well and they start to walk to Russia sushi for lunch and Izaya sighs, he had bitter sushi the night before that he didn't enjoy. He didn't feel like raw fish again so soon.
"I… Um… Don't want to inconvenience you guys or anything but can we not get Russia Sushi for lunch? I had it for dinner last night and eating sushi two times in a row just sounds too much." Izaya asked feeling like an unnecessary bother as they were treating him to lunch. Then he felt his wheelchair jerk fast and turn around.
"No problem man! Let's get a burger and fries then!" Masaomi smiles happily as they start to walk somewhere else, and Izaya felt relieved for that.
Once arrived at the fast-food joint with everyone's paper-wrapped greasy burger and yellow crispy but limp french fries, Izaya looks to the group of teens. And sighs asking the question his been needing to ask for what felt like 15 minutes.
"Can I ask exactly how do I know you, teens… I mean seriously, your all in high school, and I'm in my twenties hanging out with children so… Please I just need to know if I'm just a creepy guy or not.." Izaya sighs and felt so embarrassed to asked that as Masaomi chuckles at this. Masaomi found it much easier to get along with this version of Izaya. He seemed much more human and kind compared to the last time he knew him. The last time he saw him it felt like hanging around a snake who was always poisoning you.
Masaomi looks to the broker and smiles kindly at him. "Oh simple my good sir! You were the guardian to my lovely Saki here." Masaomi waves his hands majestically to his incredible girlfriend and plants a kiss on her cheek. "And I was also helping you with work as well as an errand boy. Then I introduced you to my great friends here as well." Masaomi trying not
And Mikado nods to this fact as it was on the borderlines of the truth. However, Mikado did think that smudging the truth would be a good thing in everyone's favor to make sure Izaya is a better person in the future. So after swallowing the french fries were in his mouth and looks to Izaya. "Indeed in fact you saved us from a group of bullies and gangsters one time. You're actually a really great guy Izaya. Always willing to help us whenever we really needed it." Mikado not entirely lying to the ex-info broker this and then Izaya felt a weight lifted off his chest.
For so long today Izaya has been contemplating if he really was a bad guy especially with that dark image of him he kept seeing around. But hearing how he was such a good person to these kids. Maybe, he had nothing to worry about maybe he was calming down and it was just a dream he had. He smiles and then his mind wanders back to Shizuo from this morning, that blond may have put him in the chair but maybe there was more to the story than he knows. He needs to know. Izaya excuses himself and wheels himself to the bathroom, only for the teens to start talking again.
"Alright see! He can't remember anything! If we play it right we can have him be a better completely different guy." Saki smiles happily and Anri nods.
"I agree… He was very dangerous before and having him be a nice guy for a change would keep the city safer and prevent him from doing what he did to us in the past from happening to anyone else again." Anri responds liking the idea of making sure the old Izaya doesnt return.
"Second on that one! Mikado you in on this?!" Masaomi looks to his good friend and he nods to the idea.
"Yeah, I mean Izaya would be better off as a good person to people instead of using them as pawns for his games..." Mikado responds unaware of the blond beast of the city entering the fast-food place putting an order to go.