Disclaimer: This is a fan based fiction.
Author Notes: Thanks so so so SO very much for everyone that reviewed, favorited and followed! You're the BEST.
I'm rotating between this fic and an Attack on Titan/Shingeki No Kyojin fic so if you haven't checked that out yet, please do! I've also been toying with the idea of doing a Yu Yu Hakusho/Game of Thrones crossover. Sounds strange, BUT! Just hear me out. Mother of Dragons x the true Dragon master. Huh? HUH? I don't know! We'll see!
Ok, ok. Onto business.
When Tamina woke in the morning, the first thing she noticed was the pounding in her head. She slung her hand across her face to hide her eyes from the light. The room was bright. This was the first thing that reminded her she wasn't in her own room. The memories of the night before started to come back to her. When they did, she took her hand away and squinted in the light. The place next to her in bed was empty. She briefly wondered where Izaya had gone. In her search, her eyes came to a glass of water and some painkillers on the nightstand, along with a note. She quickly snatched the pills and popped them in her mouth, chasing them with a sip of water. Then she grabbed the note.
'Had some work to do. A car will pick you up at 6. I have a surprise for you.' That's all the note said.
Tamina smiled to herself. What was he planning now? She let herself flop back against his bed, clutching the note to her chest. She breathed a content sigh. As she recalled their sex the night before the heat returned to her face. She bit her lip, remembering his hot breath on her neck and his strong hands gripping her waist. She blinked when these thoughts occurred and felt herself coming to a stark realization. She mentally scolded herself. Had she really forgotten about protection? How ever drunk she was, there was no excuse for that kind of lust. She counted the days in her head and felt a little relief. Her cycle was pretty regular and based on this one act alone, she was pretty sure she'd be okay. Still, she climbed out of bed pulling the sheets around herself. She seriously needed a shower.
Tamina peeked out of the bedroom. The apartment was even more impressive in the daylight. Across the hall she thought she saw the washroom so she scurried across the space and entered, feeling the wall for a light switch. When the room lit up she took in a satisfied breath. Of course, his bathroom was just as impressive as the rest of his place, with a beautiful glass shower. She helped herself to it, eager to wash off the stink of sweat and sex.
Steam billowed from the bathroom as Tamina exited, using a towel to dry her long hair. When she recalled her bag was still downstairs she headed for the stairs. While padding down the hall she was sure she heard sound coming from downstairs. Confident it couldn't be anyone but her lover, she made her way down the steps, just a towel wrapped around her wet body. She scanned the room for Izaya, but instead, found a woman. The woman didn't take notice of her, carrying several paper bags in her arms and dropping them on his counter. Tamina was about to turn and hurry back upstairs but realized she still needed the bag with her clothes in Izaya's living room.
While Tamina contemplated her predicament, the woman turned and gasped at the sight of someone unfamiliar standing on the stairs. "Who the hell are you?!" Namie Yagiri shouted at her.
Tamina was completely taken aback and somewhat embarrassed as she stood, clutching the towel to herself. "Uh-I'm-" She started.
"Nevermind!" The woman interrupted her. "I don't care." She said in a disgusted tone.
"And who are you?" Tamina asked, beyond offended by the strangers dismissive attitude.
"None of your business." Namie hissed at the girl, pulling groceries out of the paper bags and placing them on the counter. "Whoever you are, if you're shacking up with him you might as well put his groceries away." She snatched the bags once she was done and began to leave, mumbling to herself. "That damn Izaya. Leaves a booty call here and doesn't even warn me…"
Tamina was about to shout after but the woman slammed the door before she could get the words out. She gave an exasperated scoff, coming to snatch her bag off the couch where it had remained from the night before. Then she marched herself back upstairs. 'Who the hell was that? And who the hell does she think she is?!' She thought to herself, stomping down the halls back to Izaya's bedroom. She intended to call him right away and find out.
She plopped down on his bed, one hand rummaging through a side pocket of her bag to locate her phone. She pulled it out and turned on the screen, but the boiling irritation she'd just been feeling faded immediately when she noticed something. Rather, didn't notice something. No calls. No messages. She quickly scanned through her settings. Good service. No airplane mode. There was a knot that found its way into her throat when she came to realize her mother hadn't checked on her at all.
At first she was angry. 'Fuck her.' She thought. 'I did the right thing. I said something. I put an end to it.' But she then came to realize that she seemed to have put an 'end' to everything. Then her thoughts became more remorseful. She went so far as to wonder if she was the one in the wrong. Maybe she should have at least left a note. She let out a frustrated breath, tossing her phone back on the bed and pulling blankets over her head.
The day went on and still no calls. No texts. Tamina came to accept there probably wouldn't be. She began to think maybe this is what her mother wanted. For the problem to just...go away. As much as that thought hurt, Tamina wouldn't allow herself to cry about it. 'Her loss.' She thought to herself. At least she had someone like Nakura that accepted her and cared. 'Izaya.' She corrected herself.
Eventually she did rip herself out of bed and tried to be optimistic. Begrudgingly, she put away the groceries that awful woman had left on the counter. After that she passed the time with daytime TV, sitting on his couch, ideally flipping channels. Every so often she checked the Dollars message board. When it finally started to grow dim outside she hurried upstairs and started to get ready. She picked a short tight dress to flatter her figure and a cropped jacket. She fussed in his bathroom with her wavy hair. She hadn't found a hair dryer to her dismay so her hair had dried naturally in loose waves and kinks.
She let out a low groan when she noticed the hickies all over the side of her neck. Turning her head from side to side in the mirror she silently hoped she'd at least be able to cover them a little. When she gave up on that she applied some eyeliner and mascara. She was rubbing a nude color on her lips when she noticed her phone vibrate.
The car pulled up to a building Tamina couldn't readily identify. The text she'd gotten from Izaya instructed her to meet him on the roof. She had no idea what he could possibly surprise her with on top of a building, but she began the task of anyway.
When she pushed the heavy metal door on the building's roof open, she squinted in the bright artificial light. After a quick scan she found Izaya, standing next to the giant illuminated marque. She smiled softly and started toward him.
He noticed her approaching and gave his own toothy grin. "Well, hello."
"Hi." She replied with a shy smile.
He swung under the bar and jumped down, landing the impressive distance with ease. "I heard you met my personal assistant."
Tamina blinked, more than impressed by the stunt, but gave a relieved laugh. 'Personal assistant.' That's all that woman had been. What a huge weight lifted. "She called me a booty call…" She mentioned irately .
This caused Izaya to have a good laugh. "Sorry, sorry. What Namie lacks in tact she makes up for in more practical skills."
Tamina just nodded, watching him cross the space. In a swift movement, he jumped right up onto the unguarded ledge of the building. He balanced effortlessly, but she still became tense. Just seeing him up there made her nervous. The wind blew wisps of his hair as he stood, looking out over the city. She stared a moment when he extended a hand to her, but she shook her head. "I'll be too scared." She told him.
"Don't you trust me?" He asked with a smile.
Tamina didn't think she'd have to think about that, but way up here, she did for at least a second. Still, she decided to slowly reach her hand toward his. He grasped her hand in his and pulled her right up. She gasped when her feet dangled momentarily but he easily pulled her onto the ledge with him, looping his other arm securely around her waist. She gripped his jacket, head tucked close to his chest. It was windier here without the break of the building. She tried to keep her nerve.
"Are you scared?" He asked.
"Yeah…" She admitted. "Can we get down?"
This caused him to laugh. "But why? This is the surprise."
Tamina blinked, completely lost at this point. "I'm sorry, what is?" She asked.
"Didn't you say it would be easier with me..?"
"What?" Tamina asked again, feeling more nervous now.
"Disappearing?" He hugged her tight to him, jerking them toward the edge.
Her eyes went wide and she gasped, heart racing when she caught a glimpse of the fall. "Stop!" She begged, gripping him tight.
He laughed, steadying them. "What? Why?"
Now she struggled against his grip, trying to break away. "I don't want to!"
He looked surprised, but still held her tight. "You don't want to what? Want to die?"
"Why are you doing this?!" She demanded.
"I'm confused Tamina. We talked about this." When she continued to struggle, he shrugged and released her.
She quickly climbed down off the ledge, heart still pounding. She couldn't believe he'd just done that. Why would he act this way? He wouldn't really betray her trust, would he? Maybe he was upset. Maybe something had happened. "Is everything okay with your sister?" She blurted. That was always the thing that bothered him most. When they used to talk he'd always mentioned it. His younger sister, struggling through a terminal illness. Perhaps things had taken a turn for the worst, and he was acting out.
"Oh, there's something you should know about that." Izaya said. Her hopes faded as she watched his ominous smile. "I don't have one sister, I have two." He began. His smile grew. "And I despise them both."
"So," She started, struggling to find her words. "You… lied about that?"
"Correct!" He shouted, his volume startling her.
Her face became disgusted. "But..Why woul-"
"Oh Miss Takeda. If lying about that struck a nerve with you I'm afraid you're about to have a really shitty night, because we're just getting started." He told her in a nearly giddy way.
"What else?" Tamina growled.
"What else did I lie about? A lot… Pretty much everything, actually." He let her know, his smile never fading.
"Why are you doing this?" Tamina asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "I thought last night-"
"What, when I fucked you?" Izaya asked bluntly.
She couldn't believe it. How heartless he was being. It was really all a lie? Every word?
"Thanks for that by the way" He continued in a cocky tone. "I really needed to blow off some steam. I couldn't believe you just went for it, I mean, we just met. Talk about desperate." He went on, laughter in his voice.
"Why!?" She demanded again.
"Oh, calm down. I don't like being yelled at. But to answer your question, I just wanted to see what would happen. I do this sort of thing a lot. You know. Put the mouse in the maze and watch where it goes…These little experiments are the closest thing I have to a hobby! " He said matter-of-factly.
Tamina's brow became tight. An experiment? That's all this had been? What a monster this man had turned into. Or rather, had been all along. "You know what 'could' happen!" She snapped back. "You didn't even use protection!"
"You're missing the whole point!" he raised his hands to calm her. " In fact, you seem to have misunderstood the whole situation. I didn't do all of this just to sleep with you. I did it to help you." When he hopped down and came over to place a hand on her shoulder she recoiled away. He gripped her though, holding her shoulder and guiding her to look over the building ledge with him. "Seems you're a liar too. I thought you wanted to disappear? Weren't you 'this tiny push away from doing something desperate'? I tried to help the nice way, but this is another way to go, I suppose. Doesn't this make it easier? Knowing it was all just fun for me?" He thought, then he went on. "Oh, but I really didn't plan on jumping with you. Sorry to disappoint. Too much amazingly fun stuff to do here!"
The tears that had threatened her lids finally spilled down her face. "You can't mean all this.." She tried to refuse his cruelty. She fought it, pitifully.
He gave an obnoxious guffaw. "I did it because I love you!" When she looked up at him suddenly he added. "But to be fair, I love all humans, so in that sense, you're still not special. Points for seducing me though! I usually don't sleep with girls like you , so I'll give credit where it's due! Honestly I didn't plan that part at all. I've never wanted to fuck one of you sad girls, but well, the opportunity quite literally fell in my lap."
'One of you sad girls.' That's when Tamina understood. There had been others... It had been a big game for him, and she'd played right into his hands. And she wasn't even the only one. She turned fast, arm extending to slap him hard in the face. The action was halted when he grabbed her wrist with ease. "Ah hah! There's that aggressive girl I remember from last night! Stop that, you're turning me on all over again!"
She growled, jerking her hand from his grip. When he quickly let go, she lost her balance momentarily. She steadied herself against the ledge with a hand. When she instinctively tried to take a step back, her back collided with Izaya's chest and he quickly wrapped her arms around her. She was stiff, craning her neck away when he leaned close to her ear. "This has to be it. That 'little thing' to just destroy what little faith you had left. There's no shortage of men out there that wanna take a pretty thing like you, chew you up, and spit you out. I'm liberating you." He hugged her tight to him from behind, speaking almost sensually. "You're this short fall away from making all the sadness go away." He was quiet for a second, but then roughly let her go, his tone changing back to normal. "Unless you were full of shit, and you're just a sad angsty little girl like all the rest." He started to leave. "So go ahead and make your choice. If you meant everything you said all along then the choice should be easy! If not, well," He shrugged. "Try and not waste anyone else's time! Oh, you might wanna try a morning after pill or something if it's not too late! My bad!" He turned giving a wave. " If there are any developments on that front, don't be a stranger! I know a great doctor! But that's a big 'if'! Since, you know, you might just kill yourself tonight. Okay, Buh-bye now, Miss Takeda! Thanks again!" He shouted, as he slammed the heavy metal door behind him.
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She couldn't begin to comprehend his cruelty. How could someone do something like this? She'd confided in him. She'd cried to him, and he'd listened to every word. If she'd known those words would be someday dangled over her head like a joke, she might have done herself in already. She leaned forward, gripping the building ledge. That was it. The thing that finally broke her. The faint light she'd clung to had been snuffed out, and with it all of her hope. But not just that. Maybe that she could even live with. No, on top of it all, she'd been humiliated. She'd been used and made into a huge, sad joke.
'Just do it.' She thought to herself. Wouldn't it hurt him? Wouldn't it hurt everyone if she did? Her mother. Her step father. They'd suffer with remorse for years. This thought provoked her to climb onto the ledge again and come to stand there. She took a small step. And another half step, the last little distance to the very edge, letting her toes peek over. But she was stopped and gripped with fear when she saw the fall again. Tears of frustration rolled down her face. She had nothing left. She might as well just do it. She closed her eyes tight, letting herself sway. Maybe a strong wind would come, causing her to lose balance, making the choice for her. 'Do it.' She was willing herself. 'It'll be fast. Do it now. Just let go.''
But now, faced with it, she wanted to be saved. She didn't want to jump to hurt someone. She wanted to -not- jump because someone; anyone cared.
'Just do it!' She kept urging herself. She had been so sure before. Why was she having second thoughts now?
In her last act of desperation, she stepped back and pulled her phone from her pocket. Maybe a suicide hotline, or a hospital. Anything. The Dollars message board was the last thing she had checked, and still occupied her screen. A shot in the dark, but she quickly tapped the text 'Someone please help." into the forum. She clutched her phone to her chest, taking deep hard breaths in and out, counting the seconds. They started to pass quickly. She'd leave it to someone else. Sixty seconds. If no one responded by the time she counted to sixty, she promised herself she'd throw herself from this building. It would be fast, she kept reminding herself. The fear wouldn't last long. Just a short fall...
When 30 seconds passed she felt the throbbing in her heart picking up again. She stepped up to the edge again. She needed to stop making excuses. Time was winding down. She began trying to accept her fate, easing her weight from her heels into her toes when she felt her phone vibrate in her hand. She exhaled hard.
Tamina looked at the illuminated screen, trying to steady her pulse while she opened the private message reply. "Where are you?" it read from user MONTA.
She hesitated, but eventually decided to text the address back. She was already standing on the edge of a building. What was one more risk tonight? A moment later another message came through. 'On our way. Stay there.' It told her.
She didn't know if this was a good thing yet, but someone had taken the time to answer, and reach out to her. Someone did care. For that, she justified, she could wait a few more minutes. For that she allowed herself some comfort. With shaky legs she climbed down and sat against the ledge, listening to the sounds of cars in traffic and chatter of crowds in the city below.. She looked up at the sky. It was a clear night.
No less than 10 minutes later, she heard the metal door of the roof screech open. She remained where she was, reluctant to approach whoever had come.. She didn't know who she could trust anymore. She didn't know if she'd ever trust again at this point.
"LC!" She heard a man call her Dollars handle.
"Hey LC, where are you?!" A girl's voice came this time as the small group came to investigate.
"You're sure this is the place?" Another guy asked.
"I'm sure, I'm reading it right now." A young man in a hat answered, looking into his phone screen. He squinted in the light and found Tamina sitting by the ledge when his eyes finally adjusted. "There she is!" He pointed.
The group of four quickly rushed to her.
"Hey, are you okay?" A man asked as he came to crouch next to her.
Tamina nearly answered yes, but her voice cracked. Overwhelmed with emotion, she began to cry again. "No." She admitted in a sob.
A man had broken what little was left of her heart just a short time ago. He confirmed her every fear. He shook her to the core and brought her closer to her undoing than ever. She had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. But now strangers rushed to her aid. People she just vaguely knew online had just dropped everything they were doing to come find her.
The man in the hat removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "Don't worry." He told her. "My name's Kyohei. You're safe with us."
Bahhhhh, Izaya is the worst… But Kyohei's group is the best! Dollars to the rescue!
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See you next chapter!
