Hello Guys!
I am back! This Chapter come better than the previous one. I am happy how it turn.
Also, i still looking for a Beta-reader. Please message me if anyone wants to. Here or my tumblr.
If this chapter has some mistakes, please tell me. I am not a native spaker.
But, shall we begin?
"HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT?"
"60,000 yen."
"FOR A BROKEN BONE?"
"No. For a broken bone that needed to be set, two other broken bones that were set wrong. Three stitches in the head and a broken nose. Oh, and also for my visit."
"I am not PAYING SO MUCH MONEY! I DON'T EVEN HAVE SO MUCH!"
"Then you should have gone to areal hospital and not a black market doctor."
"I...can't."
"Right so, give me a name, phone number, and 10,000 yen in advance...Okay. Thank you. And before you think that you can escape without paying me then let me assure you, you're wrong. I have a few tricks up my sleeve too."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, like the black ride–"
"No, fuck! Here's 20,000 yen and I will get the rest. But please don't send the black rider!"
Shinra smiled and took the money. "As you ask. Don't delay with my money! I want it ASAP. I will give you two months." He said and left the house.
Well, today was a busy day. That guy was the fifth patient he had visited. And from his clothes (everything yellow), he could tell that he was one of the guys Celty had fought yesterday. Oh, Celty.
He remembered how she had come yesterday. It was dark when she returned. He hadn't noticed how late it had gotten, the time had flown by, but he was glad that Celty was home. He had been busy with work all day.. It was weird and unusual for Shinra. He didn't normally have so many customers, not to mention people who managed to find him.
He was curious. It was a fact. All his patients had been wearing yellow clothes. So, they should be yellow scarves. But their faces weren't familiar so...fake members? They didn't want to reveal their true identities so they had worn the gang's color. Or maybe not. He knew from Celty that Masaomi had given up the gang and had moved on. So, who were these people?
Also, thank god that he was a doctor because he had managed to notice something. When he fixed his patients, he noticed many things about their personality. That's why he knew these people weren't the yellow scarves. When the real gang came to be fixed he saw pain and often anger. A spark that the youths had.
But those he had treated these past days...somehow had a tolerance to pain. Sure, they showed pain and agony but that spark just wasn't there. Their actions weren't like the gang. He detected annoyance and also...a different dialect. Their mumbles weren't in Japanese. Even the simple groans of pain weren't pronounced like a Japanese person's. So, Celty was right.
Celty had come and hugged him. He was so happy he felt like he was flying in the clouds! But the moment was cut short when Celty wrote that she wanted to talk with him. After she caught him up and he gave his opinion on the situation, Celty surprised him. She was afraid. He could see that.
Shinra sighed. He walked away from the crowd towards the road that went to Ikebukuro. These yellow people had pinned down Celty's horse. When she told him that she hadn't seen anything that held her horse down, he had frowned. Those bastards. They had scared his beloved Celty. He had hugged her and told her that everything was okay. Then he lost his tongue as a punch to his stomach brought him back to reality.
He fell down and complained that Celty was a total tsundere girl, so she hit him again. After that an idea occurred to him. He asked if she had seen anything suspicious that might have caused it. Celty replied that she managed to find a broken bottle after Anri smashed it over one of the boy's heads. Shinra had noted it down. Maybe it was a potion to stop dullahans? Or maybe an anti-matter liquid that stopped the movement of her shadows? Or...or...or. There were so many possibilities.
Well, that's why he had agreed to meet and visit those guys. He wanted to see if he could find anything at their house. Anything out of the ordinary. Or at least another bottle. That would be enough. But he'd found nothing so far. But he still had one appointment.
He was optimistic.
Shinra adjusted his glasses. He needed to help Celty. He didn't want her to be sad. It was his duty to make her happy and also his wife but that was for another time.
If he couldn't find anything himself then...he'd find out the old fashioned way. His friend. Izaya.
That fucking dark guy, as he called him. He'd know something about this or he would find out.
That idiot. Even when he wasn't there, he could make everyone's life a mess. He closed his eyes and waited for the crossing light to turn green. Those photos.
Why couldn't he unsee those photos? How hadn't he known about that? He was steadily becoming more and more curious about those photos. Those weren't the friends he knew. That latest photo had shown a side to Izaya that he's never seen.
He knew Izaya. For fuck sake, he was his friend. But that gesture wasn't him. He refused to believe something like that. Not that he was disgusted.
No, no, no. He was somehow relieved because he had managed to make a connection between those two. He was finally looking at what he thought was lost after their first encounter. A friendship. And yet that picture felt so wrong. Even with the fallen petals he refused, no, he demanded that the gesture that everyone thought was happening was not the case.
Well, he wasn't the only one that thought so. Everyone refused to believe that those boys were their famous duo. And everyone (including himself) thought that the picture had been cut on purpose so they couldn't see what Izaya was holding. But that anon hadn't said anything. At least not yet.
They were lucky that Izaya hadn't found that website yet. Or Shizuo for that matter. They'd be screwed for sure. They were very lucky. He knew Ikebukuro would fall once his friends found out about these pictures. The thing that bothered him most was how had Shizuo and Izaya not noticed someone taking pictures? Did they take those pictures?
No. Izaya wouldn't make himself look so stupid. He wanted to be shown as the villain that everyone knew. A bastard. And also that last action wasn't an Izaya move. So...no. Not Shizuo either. He doesn't want to be in the spotlight, not like Izaya does. So, who uploaded those pictures? Did he know them? Has he met them before? Or was it someone from the underground? Or a new student that he hadn't met before he left Raijin.
Shinra smiled. Finally, he was back in Ikebukuro. So in two blocks he'd reach the sixth guy's location. This guy had an appointment with another person who had called Shinra to met him there.
Shizuo. Shizuo had come back today.
Celty was so happy that she was glowing. After punching Shinra for holding her longer than usual, she had gone to meet him. Sure, he should be thankful towards Shizuo for making his soon-to-be wife happy. But if he thought that Shizuo could take her away from him, well...hahahaha.
But no. Those photos showed an expression that Shinra didn't see on Shizuo's face very often. And after Celty found those photos too (he didn't know that she had already found them) then she would agree. Shizuo's eyes were...not angry. Not sad.
They were somehow annoyed(like usual) but also..?
Happy.
He shook his head. He couldn't think about anything else (apart from Celty, of course). Shizuo was happy, not sad or angry. It was an emotion that made Shinra question his friendship with him.
He'd never seen him with such a happy expression before.
Shinra realised he had stopped. He didn't know for how long but his legs weren't listening to him. God, he was so dumbfounded by this.
Suddenly, he heard a yell. The yell was familiar though. Everyone turned towards that sound and Shinra knew why he had stopped.
To protect himself.
A body flew up into the air. Ha, classic Shizuo.
Shizuo was back. And there was the problem.
How long would those pictures remain a secret?
-xxx-
"Senpai, are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm ok."
"Negative. You are somewhere else. Your thinking is elsewhere and not in our current situation Senpai."
"...what?"
"Shizuo, I believe she means you are in your own world. You are not present in this moment."
"Oh, really? I'm sorry Tom-senpai."
"It's ok."
"You are not focused on our situation and your movements are slow and forgotten."
Shizuo heard Vorona and looked at her, clearly not understanding what she'd just said. But before Tom said anything, Shizuo asked.
"...are you calling me 'rusty'?"
Tom opened his mouth. Wow, how had Shizuo understood that? He hadn't understood what the girl had just said but Shizuo...
"Probably... Negative. Controlled." Vorona finally told him after figuring what the right word was.
"...Controlled?"
"Yeah, that's right. We've visited four guys this morning and yet you haven't hit anyone. I'm impressed." Tom declared with a smile.
Shizuo looked at him. Well, he hasn't found out about those pictures yet, Tom thought while Shizuo looked at him in surprise.
"As I previously said, you are controlled but your mind is occupied with something else. That's why you aren't here and don't pay attention." Vorona added while moving forward.
Tom looked at his watch. Well, he had four more customers today. One of them was in Ikebukuro so that's where they were going now. But what Vorona had said caught Tom's attention.
"What are you thinking? I thought that trip helped you relax as you said. But you look tired. Did something happen when you came here? Or did...your friend say something to you?"
Tom said without thinking. Well, for the first question, he was more confident. Maybe, he saw something or maybe someone. That's why his thoughts led him to his second question. He thought and prayed that he hadn't heard about the pictures. But, from the way Shizuo was behaving, Tom was sure that he hadn't heard about them.
he stares from the people that they passed were a sign. But this was Shizuo so...he was used to that attention. He was the fortissimo after all. But when he'd picked Shizuo, he was like this. He was told that Shizuo had met with Celty in a cafe when he had arrived at the airport...maybe.
.
.
.
He was super quiet.
Although Shizuo looked at him, he didn't say anything. He opened his mouth a couple of times, but afterwards he always closed it. Clearly, he was debating if he should or shouldn't say what he was thinking. After a while, he looked down at his moving feet and said quietly.
"...Nothing. Everything is ok."
But Tom knew Shizuo. He was lying. Something big was eating at him. Did something bad happen at this job he had? Did he meet someone?
No, he was looking distressed. So it was a problem. Not a situation.
A personal problem, maybe?
Not now Tom. Ask him later, Tom thought and moved towards the location of their next client. He found the road's name they were in. Wow, their destination was in the next turn.
So, when they turned and walked towards a big square, he called their client. He noticed when Shizuo focused on something.
Or not?
Maybe the looks they were getting from the people around them were driving him crazy.
But he didn't miss when Shizuo moved his head and sniffed the air. He turned and found their client. Tom shouted and that person turned. He smiled and walked towards them.
But before Tom said anything, something moved at the speed of light and his client...
Flew away.
People gasped, some screamed and others ran away. He slapped his forehead.
The old-fashioned Shizuo was back.
He mumbled a welcome back while moving towards Shizuo. He was looking furious about something.
"What the heck Shizuo? He didn't even say anything! He just walked towards us!" He shouted while Shizuo put his glasses in his jacket.
"Vorona, help." Tom said.
"Isn't that the client Shizuo punched last week?" Vorona questioned, totally ignoring her boss. Tom turned and looked at the lying man.
...yep. It was him. But…
"Yeah, okay Shizuo but he didn't..." He started but he was talking to empty air.
Shizuo had moved towards the man he'd hit and after observing him for a while he suddenly punched a sign.
"The person we passed our time with, is back again." Vorona stated while watching her senpai.
Tom let out a sigh. "Yeah. But why did he punch a man that hadn't said anything at all? And why hadn't he punched the others like you did when they moved too far?" He asked Vorona
"...I don't have any theories about the thinking of our partner." She replied, clearly confused like her boss.
"Finally, some action!" Someone said and Tom turned.
Behind him was a familiar van. Well, Kadota's gang was here. He came closer to them and let Erika continue with her statement.
"It was so boring. Finally, we have Shizu-chan ba...is he punching a wall?" Erika pointed at Shizuo.
"Yeah. He just punched someone and now he's probably letting his anger out on the wall." Tom said.
"Yeah, we saw a man flying. Finally! You have no idea how we missed Shizu-chan, not after..." Walker covered Erika's mouth.
"NO! Erika, he will hear us and I don't want a bad ending or game over." Walker cried while Kadota talked with Tom.
"So, where is the guy?"
"Oh, he's inside that alley. He managed to hit him into there. When I saw him I noticed it was one of the men that had made Shizuo angry before. But this time he punched him without reason."
"Really? That's strange. He usually has a reason before he hits someone. Did he.."
"No, no. He paid us before and he hasn't had any past incidents with this man. Well, I believe so...I don't know why this person made Shizuo so angry."
"No reason at all? Sorry, I heard you talking so...Hello, Kadota-san and Tom-san." Shinra appeared and smiled at the two men.
"Yeah. He just punched them." Kadota answered.
"...I'm dumbfounded. I must say."
"Do you have an appointment with one of your patients today?" Kadota said and pointed to Shinra's bag.
"Yeah, I have. And I believe the last one was the man Shizuo just punched... where is he?" He asked.
"In that alley but I would wait for Shizuo to calm down a bit. Wow, he's as furious as when he sees Izaya." Tom stated.
All men agreed. In the meantime, Shizuo had gone inside the alley and Vorona had walked towards the van.
"...oh, really? Was it truly Shizuo-san? Wow, Celty-san was right!" Another voice echoed from behind.
Tom spun around and saw a blond kid talking with Erika.
"Yo, Kida. What are you doing here?" Kadota asked the blond.
Kida looked at Kadota and put his hands behind his head. "I'm going to...work. But I saw someone flying and thought it was Shizuo-san."
"Well, you were right. Shizuo-san just launched someone into the air. But why did you mention my Celty's name?" Shinra required.
"Oh, she said that Shizuo-san would come back today and look at that. Here he is."
"I must say that we are all surprised by Shizuo's arrival." Shinra added.
"Yeah, but all I can think now is...if." Kida spoke while coming towards them.
"Is that what I think it is?" Kida asked and pointed at the van's bumper.
Kadota laughed and nodded. "Yes, it is Ruri Hijiribe. Togusa's idol. Well, yesterday..."
After he finished his story, Shinra said, "So, he got a used one and painted on his idol?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
Erika was talking now with Vorona and Walker facepalmed sometimes probably at what Erika was saying to the Russian. Kida and the others were just watching the alley when finally Shizuo came out, still without his sunglasses on. He stopped when his eyes caught sight of Kida and moved back inside the alley.
But before anyone asked what had happened, Shizuo reappeared again dragging the man's body with him. He dropped it in front of them and after he paused to light a cigarette, he started talking.
"You're the leader of the yellow scarves, right?"
Kida, surprised from the question and probably shocked, nodded.
Shizuo nodded too, calmly. Kida let out his breath. Everyone had stopped talking, including Erika who just smiled and looked at Shizuo. Ready to burst, probably.
"Do you know this man?" Shizuo finally asked.
Kida looked down. He scratched his chin in thought and shook his head, finally getting what Shizuo was asking.
The man was wearing his gang color.
"Probably. Maybe one of the new ones that got inside."
Shizuo frowned and nodded. Why did he want to know? Kida crouched and took off the scarf and looked at his face.
"Oh, wait!" He smirked. "I do know him."
Then, Shizuo started frowning more and mumbling 'I hit the wrong man'.
...
What?
But Kida continued. "Yeah, I met him yesterday. He isn't in my gang. He's using my gang's color."
Shizuo turned in surprise and listened to him.
"Yeah, he was speaking another language with his other partners." Kida added, sitting up and glancing at Shizuo.
"But he didn't know me. Meaning that he was using my gang's color without knowing that there was another gang with that color."
Shizuo...just stared at him. He had dropped his cigarette and now his hands were inside his pockets. Erika dropped her smile. She knew that look. She had seen it before...in the last picture!
She searched her phone and found the picture. Yeah, it was that pose. So, he looked surprised in the picture. So, what was happening inside the picture wasn't what she'd thought.
Shizuo looked surprised probably from the words being said and not from the action. So, as the others had said, Izaya was holding something different.
Not a love letter.
She cursed mentally. Her OTP was falling apart again. Now that she looked at the photo, Izaya wasn't blushing or nor was Shizuo for that matter. She closed her phone. Now what?
Suddenly after the long awkward silence, Shizuo took out his phone, clicked something and said to Tom that he would take the day off because he didn't feel okay. Tom agreed but Shizuo had already left while still writing a text to someone.
Everyone just stared after him and then Vorona killed the silence.
"Tom-senpai, don't we need Shizuo-senpai to finish our tasks?"
"No. We can handle them ourselves. But now that you mention it, we should be going." He answered and said goodbye.
"Well, I should be going too. I need to go to work." Kida added and left too.
"Well, how about we go and buy some lunch to treat ourselves? My treat." Kadota asked and everyone agreed.
"Sure. Either way, my client now needs a hospital...Celty~!" Shinra shouted as he caught sight of a black silhouette.
"Celty, my love, my wife! How are you? Okay? Did you pass from here to see your amazing love...aahhh, Celty no!" Celty had punched Shinra in the stomach and continued to do so while tapping at her PDA.
Shinra stopped and read what she wrote.
"Oh no! I have just finished! I didn't stop my work to find your amazing bo...aahhh Celty that hurts!" Shinra screamed.
(Sorry. I just finished my job and was coming back when I saw a man flying. Shizuo's work, right?) She asked Kadota while she kept Shinra at bay.
"Yes. He left just now. I don't know why but..."
(Really? He was acting weird earlier, too.)
"Wow, well...how about we talk about this in Russian Sushi? At least in a safe location where no one can hear us."
(Sure, why not?)
-xxx-
(So, you woke up earlier so you could visit those dangerous guys on your own!?) Celty tapped and not only showed her PDA to Shinra but pushed it on his face.
"Ouch...yeah..aieee...yeah I did! I remembered what you said about them and something was suspicious about them. You remembered a broken bottle so I went to find out if they had any but no such luck." Shinra breathed.
"So Celty, you don't know what held down your horse or better yet how they did it?"
When Celty nodded, Kadota continued.
"That bottle...did you see them use it?"
Celty shook her head.
"No. Well, I believe that that bottle was there before the battle. Just a normal bottle. Unless you saw the label on it."
(No. I don't remember if it had a label on it...do you think that that bottle was just a background thing?)
"Probably. I don't see why they would leave behind something so useful, especially something that could stop a dullahan. Nor would they leave it for the public eye to see." Kadota turned and looked at Shinra.
He smiled and scratched his head. "Well, it was a chance. But now that you say it like that..." He was stopped by Celty.
(Of course! You could've been hurt. You IDIOT! I don't want to lose you to some bastards...) There were more sentences written but Shinra turned it away before finishing and hugged Celty.
"Oh sorry, my love! I will not do it again. Not now at least...ouch."
"Anyway, guys did you see Shizu-chan today? Finally, our city is back!" Erika cheered while Walker attempt to shut her up before another knife was thrown at them.
"Oi, yeah. He just punched the man into space." Togusa mumbled while he ate.
"Yeah, but he punched him without a reason. That is not Shizuo's way. And also Celty just told us that she saw him earlier. Isn't that weird? We haven't seen anything else flying. Only this dude. And I don't think it's a coincidence that he was wearing yellow clothes." Walker stated and everyone stopped.
"That's true. Celty, did that trip relax him so much that he didn't feel the need to punch anyone in the face?" Kadota asked.
(No.) She tapped and continued.
(He was angrier than before. We met at the cafe and I saw that he must've already gone to his house and left his stuff there. He wasn't carrying anything. He told me that the job was finished in the first few days but he stayed because they had agreed with his boss that he would stay there for a week. So, you'd presume a person would've been relaxed. But Shizuo wasn't.
Maybe something happened to the airplane or maybe at the airport. Maybe he saw someone.) She stopped and everyone understood that she was referring to Izaya.
(But when I asked him, he told me that everything was fine. That the trip was okay. But his face was starting to get angrier by the second. Also, he was looking around a lot. Like he was searching for something.)
"Or someone." Shinra spoke.
"You think he was searching for Izaya?"
"No, Erika-chan. I think he was searching for the person he punched. When he was with his boss, as Tom told me, he wasn't paying attention to them. He didn't speak or do anything. But when they met that man, he just punched him. Without him doing anything to provoke Shizuo."
"And when he got the answer he wanted from Kida-kun, he just left without a reason." A voice interrupted them.
Everyone turned and saw Tom leaning against the wall.
"Sorry, I overheard you talking about Shizuo and I noticed his strange behavior too."
"Ah, Tom-san would you like to join us? Did you finish your job?" Kadota smiled and tapped the seat near him.
"Ah, thank you. I'm starving. And yes we finished our tasks. Vorona just left and I thought about getting lunch, so..." He smiled and sat down.
"But anyway. Now that you mention it Shizuo was searching for someone."
(Did you have any yellow-worn clients except from the one Shizuo punched?)
Tom scratched his chin. "No, we haven't. But we passed several. So I don't think he was searching for him. He punched that dude last week."
(Did he wear any yell...)
"Yeah. He wore it then too. But Shizuo was paying extra attention to him. Maybe he knew him."
"Or not. Did he see him first?"
"Oh...ah..yeah. I called that dude and told him that we were in the location he had chosen...Then Shizuo just walked off first and then stopped as I remember... Oh yeah, then that person typed something into his phone and then...bang!" He made a hand motion that signalled a punch.
"So maybe he punched him because he read what that man wrote?" Togusa stated.
"Yeah, but what was the meaning of those questions then?" Erika enquired and everyone paused.
"Maybe he read about something that was happening. A gang activity maybe? Or not. He left when Kida said that that person didn't know him."
"Yeah, Erika is right. And then he sent a text to someone." Walker continued.
"Oi...the phone." Tom yelled and stopped.
"What?"
"The phone. He broke his phone last week and as compensation, we gave him a new one. The latest model to be exact. But the phone he got out was a flip phone. An old model."
"So?" Togusa asked.
"No, no, no. He didn't buy a new one. I saw him using the new one earlier today. So my question is. What phone was that? Did it have a special number in it? And why did he text with that one and not with his new one?"
"Do you think that Shizuo is in a gang...no, wait" Erika slapped herself. "That's impossible. He hates gangs."
Tom nodded. "Since the first time I met him. But, from high school and after that he's hated them even more."
"Ha, I wonder why." Shinra mumbled
Everyone froze.
"Did anyone see Izaya?" Walker trembled.
"As Kida said, Izaya doesn't know about the pictures, so don't sweat it." Kadota stopped him.
"Yeah, but when he does find them then what? Dear god, who posted those photos. We are doomed."
No one disagreed.
Then Kadota remembered something. Something he wanted to ask Shinra.
"Oi, Shinra." He caught Shinra's attention and he stopped snuggling with Celty.
"Yeah, Kadota-kun?"
"Did you have any contact with Izaya or Shizuo when both of us left Raijin?"
He shook his head and continued hugging Celty. "After I went to the new school, I lost touch. Maybe because I had more stuff to do or because I had to move closer to that school. I didn't have any contact until...two years later...I think when I got the news."
"Oh, yeah. When Shizuo was in the prison."
Shinra stopped hugging Celty and moved his eyes towards Kadota.
"No." He said with a confused voice. "When Izaya was in the hospital."
Kadota froze. "What?"
"Yeah. Before you ask, Izaya has been in the hospital before and he doesn't only come to me. Second, I have heard about Shizuo being in prison but I don't know if that happened first or after the hospital incident. I got a call from a hospital, I don't remember the name right now, but anyway they called me to come as soon as possible. When I have asked why, they said that a friend of mine was there for four days and the last two he wouldn't cooperate with the doctors. So I went and found Izaya.
Alone inside a room with so many flowers in it. That would've surprised me if it wasn't for Izaya's face. When he noticed that I had entered the room he looked at me..." Shinra stopped and let his head fall down slightly .
"He was...broken. Sad. Angry. So many emotions that shouldn't describe Izaya. But his goddamned smirk was still on. He was smirking at me. But his eyes were so different that I just...couldn't. They said he was there because a building had fallen down on him. I didn't believe them then, nor do I now. After many conversations and so much persuasion, I managed to make him return to his treatment. It was...it was like he wanted to die." He stopped and locked his eyes dead on with Kadota's.
"The next news I got was when Shizuo came to my apartment. He had a damaged arm and so much blood on his clothes that I thought he'd jumped inside a barrel of blood. His arm wasn't broken but his muscles were...destroyed. Damaged beyond repair. But as the superhuman that he is, I managed to repair them."
"Wait..." Tom said after a long wait of silence.
"Did you say his muscles?"
" ...yes?"
"I know what day that was . It was maybe a month after Shizuo just started working with us. He was...now that you mention it. Quiet and collected. Calm, I must say. And then I saw a black silhouette. At first, i thought it was Celty but then when I looked again it was Izaya. He was standing at the opposite side of the road...just staring at Shizuo.
But he didn't talk. Oh no. He was staring at Shizuo like he wanted to burn holes in him. He had a sad smile on his face. Shizuo...didn't attack him. No. He just stared back for a long time and then before I said anything he walked towards Izaya. When he was a couple meters away...I think he talked to Izaya. But Izaya didn't answer. And then suddenly, there was a cutting sound that echoed in the streets and when I looked at the duo, Shizuo was still in the same place and Izaya had a knife in his hand. His hand was in the air and covered in blood, so much blood. Izaya's face was looking at the pavement.
Shizuo's arm started dripping blood and then after he touched it, he screamed so loud. Not from pain but anger. And after that, he chased him. Their typical chase."
"So after that their fights started. Think about it Kadota-kun. We hadn't heard of any fights between them when we were in high school." Walker observed.
"True. Or else we would've heard news of them." Shinra agreed.
(So, do you think that Izaya and Shizuo managed to become friends and then something happened for their relationship to roll away?)
"It is a possibility that we can agree on. Or maybe Erika found something about their relationship."
Erika frowned. "No, I haven't. My OTP slowly sinks."
"Wait. Erika, I haven't heard you talking or mumbling for several minutes. Did something cross your mind?" Kadota asked and waited for Erika to reply.
Erika opened her mouth and closed it.
"Yesterday, as I was walking home after a convention I had, I accidentally passed the building you fought at that morning. It was really late so there weren't any people there. So after I passed it, I heard some yells and screaming. Not for help or anything. A fight. So, as usual, I stood and eavesdropped behind one of the shop's trash cans on the road opposite the building's. Then because I heard the yells getting louder I... just panicked okay."
She made a fake heroic face and punched Walker when he started smirking.
"But anyway, was Shizuo's trip long?" She asked calmly.
(As I said, it was one week long and he returned back today.) Celty tapped and Tom nodded.
"Oh, ok. Anyway, after I heard the shouts getting quiet, I thought that the battle had stopped and decided to get out of my secret spot. But then a loud bang made me regret my choice and I hid behind it once again. When I turned to look at the building, I saw that the door was wide open, probably kicked open and in front of it was...Izaya. He was looking angry, furious. And then after some time of collecting himself, he just turned and left. So, I waited for the next person to come out. I wanted to see with whom Izaya was arguing with. And yes, I would've been surprised with Izaya's expression if it wasn't for what I saw next. Or better yet whom."
She stopped talking and looked at everyone with a serious face.
"I saw Shizuo."
-xxx-
"My dear Saki! Where is your beloved boyfriend?~" Izaya sang as he continued furiously tapping the keyboard.
"On his way."
"Well, then tell your boyfriend if he continues to make me wait, I will make him pay~" He smirked.
Saki turned and looked at him. He was seriously focused on his task. Saki honestly believed if he continued writing so fast, he would burn down his keyboard. Wow. The last time she's seen Izaya typing this fast and be so focused was when the Saika incident happened. Kida was only late by several seconds.
And only because he was on a quest for information for Izaya. Kida had been late before. Why did Izaya want him so much today? Did he find something? Did he want to ask him something?
...
Was it about the Yellow Scarves? Or the people that wore yellow clothes? Did he want information from their ex-leader alone? If that's the case then why was Izaya searching on the Internet for the thing he wanted to ask?
Did he want to blackmail Kida? What the fuck did he want?
Maybe he was searching for the information he needed for today. Yeah, that's more likely. While Izaya continued his work, Saki stood up and went over to Namie. She positioned her smirk and whispered.
"Did he lose something?"
A fake question to start a serious conversation. Izaya taught her that. The perfect way to get information with minimum effort. The person was taken back by that question, their guard was down and they were more open to serious ones. And because Namie knew Izaya in a way, she would get what she wanted easily.
"His pawns. That's why he's grumpy. Don't question him." She looked up from her monitor and whispered back.
"His pawns? How?" Now Saki was taken back.
Namie nodded. "Someone is blackmailing his clients and really slowly he is losing his playthings. Or I think he is. He was like that when I got here."
"Did he..." She stopped and clasped her hands together.
But Namie understood. "Thank god no. We are fine... for now."
Saki nodded and relaxed. "So something happened yesterday?"
Namie's eyes widened. "Yes, well..." She told her what happened yesterday.
Namie wanted information on what happened yesterday and the only person who could provide them now was Saki as one of the people who knew Izaya better.
But when Saki's eyes got bigger and her smirk almost disappeared, it gave her a different answer.
"Really? I haven't seen him use it before. I always saw him charging it but never...wow. Do you think someone told him to meet up and after that, something happened that drove us in this position?" She pointed at Izaya.
Namie nodded. "After the text, he got more angry and bossy. He hasn't even insulted me. That makes me unsure though. Did he...did someone text him the photos and now he is trying to find out who it was?"
Saki shook her head. "If that had happened, then he wouldn't have left the room angrily. And I believe no one knows his personal phone number to text him the photos. Did you see it? It is one of the old models."
Namie nodded and glanced at Izaya. He was still tapping angrily at the keyboard and probably had forgotten the other occupants in the room.
"Yeah, true. But what the fuck? That bastard could have someone that cares about him and texted him those pictures. But omg, it his personal phone. I don't know with whom he talks and what contacts he has inside it." She almost yelled and hoped that Izaya hadn't heard her burst.
Fortunately, he had his head turned towards the windows and suddenly a flying body was shown in the background. She opened her mouth but then she heard a snort. She looked at Izaya and saw him, getting even angrier while still holding his smirk. Thank god that she could read his eyes. He then continued writing.
After some time, Izaya said.
"See? Shizu-chan is back."
"I can see that. But that was a flying body and not a flying vending machine."
Izaya snorted (so it was him who had snorted, interesting) "Vending machine, a man. The same thing."
"A man?" She asked.
How had Izaya known that the body was a man? All she could see was a dot flying and then falling.
Izaya didn't answer but this time he fully showed his trademark smirk. He then stood up and went to the table which had his game. He moved the king forward and hit the red queen so that it fell down. He also moved a soldier forward and let it fall down in front of the king. He then went back to his chair and continued writing.
"Because I'm an informant, that's why!" He sang with a different tone.
Namie let that slide. Did he send someone after Shizuo? Probably. That's why he had known whom that body belonged to. But then why did he sound so angry?
Suddenly, there was a buzzing sound. Namie turned and watched Izaya. One of his goddamn phones again. Izaya caught one of the ones which were on his desk.
...
His personal phone?
Did he have it there the whole time? She glanced at the library. There weren't any phones there. How hadn't she noticed the phone? She could've seen who was texting Izaya and making him angry. Or at least what that person had sent him.
Izaya read the text again. He looked at it for so long that she thought time had frozen. But before she could ask anything, he turned to his second monitor and, with his phone still in his hands, he typed something. But with the other monitor in front of the second one, she couldn't see what he was typing. From the face he was making, she guessed that something serious was happening.
He typed and typed and then another sound was heard. She turned and looked at the printer. But? Didn't Izaya find his client's information three days ago? So whose information was he printing now? Izaya took the papers and left them on his desk while he went to the library to grab an envelope which he put the papers inside.
He then used his personal phone, which hadn't left his hand, and texted something. The phone vibrated again and when Izaya's face clouded, she understood that the one who texted Izaya wasn't playing around.
He texted something back and shoved his phone inside his pocket. Oh, she understood what he was doing now.
"Oh, no. You bastard! You are not leaving when you have so many ap..."
"I have already given them their information."
"What?"
"Geez, woman~ I have already given them their information. Ah, yes, all of them. One hour before you came, I delivered it myself. Here, your paycheck." He smirked and gave her another envelope.
She opened it and as he claimed there was money inside it.
"Why?" Namie asked.
"Why you ask? Well, as you saw I have something planned to do today. Life doesn't always go as you want it to." He smirked and moved to his desk.
"Like yours. Your brother is with another bit..."
"Goddammit! Shut up!" She yelled at him and pushed the envelope on her desk with so much strength that the sound it made echoed through the house.
He smirked and jumped towards the sofa.
"Melody to my ears~" He laughed.
But Saki knew that something serious was happening or better yet Izaya was going to meet someone important. That or he was afraid. That's why he was trying to make someone else miserable. That distracted him from the situation. But Saki was glad that the old Izaya was still present.
In the meantime, Izaya and Namie were talking (arguing and yelling) while Izaya put on his coat. Then, his face turned serious and with the envelope he had made several minutes ago (was he holding that the entire time he was arguing with Namie?) he went to the door.
But before he opened it, it was unlocked by none other than Kida. Kida jumped when he was met with Izaya's face but then he moved several meters away. With an awkward smile that showed more anger than regret, he spoke.
"I know that that I am lat..." But Izaya didn't let him finish his sentence.
He just pushed the envelope into Kida's chest and said.
"I don't care. Saki-chan will tell you the rest. Now, I want information on this person." He moved away from him and left the apartment.
Kida let him go and after several seconds he closed the door.
"Was I really that late to make him so angry?" He asked the two females.
"No someone texted him on his personal ph..." Saki started.
"What? Really? Wow, what happened to make him so furious? You two maybe didn't catch it but when he left the door, he was so irritated that I was sure he would punch me in the face." Kida laughed and opened the envelope.
"It was the second time, he got a text and yet again he left the same way. Angry. Who is that person who texts him?" Namie said aloud but she was just talking to herself.
"Yeah. Finally, the roles are reversed, aren't they?" Saki asked and both females laughed.
"Ha, finally. It is like now he has traded places with Heiwajima." She snorted.
"Oh wait! Do you think he is going to meet him?"
"Probably. Where else he would go?" Namie stopped and fell quiet. "But I still can't forget the pictures." She wondered after a while and touched her cheek.
Saki asked. "Do you think they had some kind of relationship? A...friendship?"
"Who knows? Maybe yes, maybe no." She stated.
Saki snorted. "Do...do you think that the one who texted Izaya is Shizuo-san?"
Namie laughed. "Oh...what...no!"
"...yes"
Both females turned at the forgotten male. Kida was still looking at the envelope.
"What?" Both females requested.
Kida looked at them. "Yes. I said that the person who texted Izaya was Shizuo-kun."
Saki and Namie shook their heads and one of them gasped.
"Kida..what are you saying?" Namie asked him.
Kida looked at the envelope again. "Either that or this is just a coincidence."
He then took out one of the pictures that the envelope had and showed it to the girls.
".?..yeah, and?" Both said.
Kida looked at them.
"In the photo, this man is hurt and lying on the pavement. He is wearing the same clothes he was wearing today. But near him is a van's bumper. But not just any van's bumper. It is a van I know very well. Kadota's van.
.
.
.
This person is the one that Shizuo punched today.
And this picture was taken by Shizuo."
Don't worry guys.
We will have some action finally going on in the chapter!
See you then!