Disclaimer: This is a fan based fiction!
Author's Notes: Thank you all to the moon and back for favoriting/following/reviewing! It's seriously the best feeling ever knowing you're enjoying my story. I appreciate it more than you could ever know!
Happy Mother's Day to any Mama's reading and I hope everyone else enjoys their day! I have a little girl myself and my day was pretty great. :] Especially the part where I got the time to get this posted.
Everyone seemed to like the FAQ thing I did last chapter and if there are any more questions I'll definitely do it again. There's already a couple I may cover next chapter. PLEASE don't hate me if I don't get back to a PM right away. Writing is literally like my only hobby and gets all the little free time I have so bear with me!
I just can't get enough of all this Team Shizuo vs Team Izaya stuff happening here. It makes it so much fun to write! Let me know who you're shipping! Or maybe you were shipping one guy before but find yourself changing your mind now... ;]
Things are going to be getting even dicier from here on. Enjoy!
"Everything okay?"
Shizuo's voice pulled Tamina back to attention. She hadn't even noticed he'd come to check on her. She'd ended her call with her friends but felt uneasy considering how they'd left off, so she remained outside ,elbows on the balcony railing, just watching the city. "Yeah, fine." She assured him, looking over her shoulder and forcing a small smile. "They'll pick me up whenever." She offered his phone back.
Shizuo came outside. "They must be pretty worried." He concluded, taking his phone back and pocketing it.
She let out a sigh at that. "Yeah... I kind of wandered off on them yesterday, and that lead to the part where you stepped in. They sounded pretty pissed." She admitted.
"It's just because they care." He tried to reassure her.
"I know." She was suddenly reminded of something Kyohei said. "Is..." She hesitated, unsure how to bring it up. "..I mean. Dr. Kishitani... He's a real doctor, right?"
"Well..." Shizuo started, just has hesitant to answer as she was to ask. "He is... In the sense that he's educated and knows what he's doing..."
Feeling there might actually be some truth to what her friends had said, she just asked. "Is he a 'mob doctor'?"
"Yeah, yeah." He seemed relieved she came up with words for it. "That's it."
There were plenty of questions buzzing around in Tamina's head, but all that seemed to come out was, "Uhm.. So...?"
He could see her concern and tried to explain. "He is a real doctor. I wouldn't have brought you here if he wasn't. But his work is kind of... under the radar..."
She nodded at that, deciding not to press the subject any further. She was thankful for the help, after all. There was a silence between them while Tamina became lost in thought and Shizuo tried to think of what to say next. His first instinct was to comment on the weather, but he stopped himself. How cliché was that? They were past that, weren't they? He decided to step out of comfort and ask something he really wanted to know. He remained polite as usual though. "Can I ask you something that's been kind of bothering me?"
She looked a little surprised but answered right away. "Sure."
"The last time we saw each other..." He began, but she already felt like she knew where he was going. "You were with Izaya Orihara..."
She had silently hoped he wouldn't bring it up, but she couldn't blame him. There was obviously bad blood between the two, and thinking back to that day, it must have looked strange from Shizuo's end. She remembered it so clearly. Sinking back into Izaya's body while he clutched her to him protectively. The fear she'd felt toward Shizuo and the comfort she'd found in Izaya's touch in that moment. She shook off the thought.
"It's...really nothing." She found herself blurting before he could finish. When she noticed his eyes on her, she felt a guilt in her statement and she couldn't bare it. "I'm sorry..." She started again. " I don't want to lie to you..." As hard as it was, she forced herself to be honest with him. "There was something between me and Izaya, at one time." She began to confess, watching his expression carefully. "But it was very brief! And... to be completely honest, it was pretty terrible." When she couldn't read his face her eyes shifted away, somewhat embarrassed to go on, but she was determined. "He didn't have any respect for me. Or my body... It's something I really regret, but it's also something that brought me here, so I've kind of made my peace with it. Now I look after his sisters, so I'm kind of stuck with him."
He was quiet. And a little too unreadable for her comfort. "I see." He finally said, still not hinting how he felt about her little confession but obviously in deep thought.
It was almost more than Tamina could take. She hated the idea of hurting him. "Is that a deal breaker?" She asked apologetically.
He adopted a questioning look for a second, unsure of her meaning. When he finally understood he became a little flustered. "Oh! No! No, it's not..." He said, averting his eyes and scratching the back of his head. As much as the thought of that flea with Tamina tugged at his nerves, he couldn't bring himself to be upset with her about it. He appreciated her honesty and could tell it was a sore subject by her tone. Furthermore, the fact that she seemed so concerned about his feelings about it was something that eased his mind. She could have lied, or avoided the subject, but she didn't. And for that, he felt like he could level with her. Especially considering his growing, proliferating infatuation. "I'd be a hypocrite if I judged your past with him. Considering I can't seem to get him out of my life either as much as I try." He found himself saying.
She was so relieved at that. She worried all this coming to light might change the way Shizuo saw her. And it wasn't until this very moment that she realized how much that meant to her. "Good." She said in a breath of relief with a small smile.
There was a strong gust of wind in the early spring air. It was even stronger up this high. It caused Tamina's hair to whip, most of it colliding with her face. She laugh at herself, spitting wisps from her lips and trying to push it away.
Shizuo couldn't suppress his own smile, silently admiring all the loose waves and natural kinks in her long hair. He knew what he wanted to do, but there was a delay in his body. He found himself a little frustrated at his apprehensions again, and willed himself to act, as he'd done earlier. His damn body always did whatever it wanted anyway. Why couldn't he do it now? The ice had been broken, hadn't it? He silently gathered his nerves and his efforts were rewarded when his hand finally started to move like he wanted. He reached up and carefully helped her, fingers lacing through her locks and pushing them out of her face. He let them graze across her cheek when he did. He moved the strands back, tucking them behind her ear and it revealed that ridiculously sweet, squinty eyed smile that he liked so much.
Tamina could feel his fingers lingering tenderly. Once again she felt an overwhelming affection for this man. This paradox. Her friend. Her savior. She turned her face into his hand, closing her eyes and grazing her lips across his palm. As composed as he'd been, she could feel the subtle change in him when she did. This caused her to smile against his hand, casting him a side glance but remaining right there.
His hand burned where her lips touched and he knew his face was again adopting a deep hue of red, despite his best efforts. But he didn't care. He liked it. He more than liked it. Even her smallest, endearing gestures like this caused his heart to soar in a way it never had before.
"Hey!" Shinra called to them as he carelessly threw the balcony door open, causing Tamina and Shizuo to jerk away from each other yet again. Shinra immediately caught on to the sudden tension. "Oh, sorry, was I interrupting something...?"
Shizuo could have killed him. He really could have, his hand balling into a fist on the balcony railing. Tamina picked up on it right away and placed a hand on his fist, giving a subtle squeeze and smiling warmly at the doctor. "Not at all!" She said nonchalantly. As irritated as he was, Shizuo felt his tension fade under Tamina's touch once again.
"Oh good!" Shinra came out to join them. "Just wanted to give you these." He offered a filled prescription bottle. It was a little shady, with no labels of any kind on it, but Tamina took it all the same. "Take these as needed for pain for the next few days, don't operate heavy machinery, blah blah blah. You know the deal."
Tamina gave the bottle a shake, looking over the pills. They were the same kind he'd given her earlier, so she didn't question further. "I really appreciate it." She thanked him.
"You should come back here in about ten to twelve days for me to remove the staples. Until then try not to do anything strenuous and get plenty of sleep. If there are any issues don't hesitate to call or stop by." He said.
"So.. that's it?" She asked.
"Yup! Pretty much! You're coherent, you're not having convulsions and there's no liquid draining from your eyes or ears, so it's pretty safe to say you've avoided any serious brain trauma. You're free to go." He assured with a warm smile.
She shared a look with Shizuo before managing a smile too. "Well that's definitely good news."
"Yeah..." Shizuo couldn't deny.
Tamina used Shizuo's phone to let Kyohei know she was ready for pick up. When he responded they were close by.
"I can't thank you enough for everything Dr. Kishitani." Tamina thanked again, giving a bow of respect.
"No, no!" Shinra waved her off. "It was no trouble at all! You were a pleasure compared to most of my patience. Especially Shizuo!" He told her
"And," She began more seriously. "Please apologize to Celty for me..."
"Oh, don't worry about that! She totally understands." He tried to assure her.
"No!" Tamina insisted. "I was horribly rude! You welcomed me into your home and helped me and I..." She paused, searching for words." I just... screamed in her face... It's unforgivable."
Shinra let out a soft laugh. "I'm sure Celty would disagree, but I'll pass the message along."
Shizuo's phone chimed, and they all seemed to know what that meant. Shizuo checked and gave a nod of acknowledgment. "They're here."
"Well, it was very nice to meet you Tamina." Shinra said.
"You too. And thanks again." Tamina said as she began to leave down the long hall, Shizuo following close behind to escort her out.
They stepped out the front door and into the elevator together, standing side by side as it began to descend. There was a silence between them again as both searched for something to say. There was a pressing feeling now that she was on her way out and they both felt like they should at least say something.
It seemed like time had sped up as they reached the bottom floor before either of them knew it. The elevator rang and the doors slid open. Neither made a move to leave. They remained, determined to achieve some kind of closure to the strange events that had brought them here.
"Hey..." Shizuo was finally able to say. "I know you said you don't want me to apologize anymore, but I'd really like to make this up to you."
Tamina smiled at that, relieved he'd finally said something. "I won't argue that."
"So... I guess I'll text you..?" Shizuo said, then seemed to realize. "Well, whenever you get a new phone."
"Oh," Tamina was reminded. "Yeah, I'll try to get a new one this week. I'll text you when I do. I still have your number."
"Good." Shizuo concluded warmly but reluctantly.
"Well," Tamina found herself just as hesitant to leave but forced herself to step out of the elevator and head for the entrance of the apartment building, her eyes never leaving him. "Thank you so much Shizuo. I'll talk to you as soon as I can."
He felt quite excited at that. Considering his actions, he never expected her to be so forgiving. Furthermore, he never expected her to be so excited to see him again. His euphoria caused delay in response, and it wasn't until the elevator doors started to slide shut that he jerked from his idol stance. "Looking forward to it!" Was all he could manage before the doors shut completely on him.
Tamina climbed into the familiar van silently. There wasn't the usual chorus of greetings that she was used to. This caused her tension to flare. The sliding door slammed shut behind her and Kyohei climbed into the passenger seat. They were underway shortly after. Still, no one broke the silence.
She felt like she should say something during the drive. The quiet seemed to ring around her as she stared out the window, watching passing signs and buildings; anything to occupy her mind. But she remained silent. The more she didn't say anything, the more difficult it became to speak. As pitiful as her sense of direction was, she could tell they weren't headed toward her apartment just yet. Still, she didn't say a word.
The van came to a stop in a familiar parking lot. Saburo put the vehicle into park and leaned back in his seat, making himself comfortable. Walker and Erika leaned forward from the back, resting their elbows on the back of the middle seat. Finally Kyohei flipped open the sun visor, using the mirror within to make sharp eye contact with Tamina. "Alright, we need to talk." He told her in a stern tone. His words pained her with anxiety, but Tamina just nodded in response. He continued. "Look, I feel like we've been pretty understanding thus far. You've obviously got some baggage and past demons. Everyone does. And we're not the type to force you to air out all your dirty laundry. You can talk about what you wanna talk about whenever the hell you feel like you're ready. That said," His tone shifted a bit. "We deserve some answers." He said. It wasn't a request.
"I know..." Was all Tamina could manage in response, eyes falling to her lap.
"I don't feel like we have to dance around the subject anymore." Kyohei went on. "When we found you, you were suicidal." He said bluntly. Tamina winced, but couldn't deny it. "We're invested in you at this point, Tamina. I hope we've made that clear." The group shared a nod of acknowledgment at his statement. "We love you, and don't want to see you hurting in any way. We know depression is a hell of a thing and a sensitive topic, but we can't continue to let you be so reckless. And above all, we'd like you to share things with us, so we can help you if we can."
There had never been a direct conversation about it. In fact, it seemed to be something they all avoided or ignored. But it was true. What bonded Tamina to this small group was the fact that they had been the only thing that had prevented her from ending her own life. Thinking back on it now made her feel incredibly weak for some reason. As much as she fought it, she felt the swell of emotion to cause a heaviness to grow in her eyes. She'd always been an emotional crier. She hated how it looked, but her emotions often overflowed and she'd developed few other methods of coping. Fear. Sadness. Anger. Frustration. They all provoked a similar reaction. "I'm..." She started, but her voice cracked. "I'm so sorry."
Kyohei immediately felt guilty for causing such a response. He wasn't sure what he had expected from his lecture, but upsetting her like this, he realized, was the last thing he wanted. "Hey," He started to console, turning in his seat to look at her directly. "Don't cry. We're not trying to punish you or anything!"
Erika swiftly hopped over the middle seat from the back to sit next to Tamina. "What Dota-chin means is we care about you a lot, despite our short time together. We need you to know that. And we know whatever you've gone through was hard and probably left some scars. But there are people out there that really love you and you can trust them. There's no need to keep those people out of the loop, because they would never judge or hurt you." She finished pulling Tamina into a tight hug.
Tamina felt an immediate comfort in her actions and words, even if Erika seemed to be cuddling her to her breasts a bit more than necessary.
"That's right." Kyohei confirmed, his tone more tender than earlier.
Tamina didn't even know where to start. She wanted to tell them everything, but 'everything' was just so much... She wasn't the type that found her words easily. She needed time to think on them to best express her feelings which is why she often favored actions over words... "I promise, I'll tell you guys everything." She began. "I just... need a little time." She told them, hoping for an understanding that she didn't know if she quite deserved.
Erika finally pulled Tamina from her chest to lock eyes. "We're gonna be there for you. No matter what. Dollar or not. We knew you were a cool person when you were just LC to us, and as Tamina we know you're even more. Don't sell yourself short. And don't you dare think you have to go through all of these things alone."
Whatever composure Tamina had managed to muster was cracking, but she forced herself to smile softly and nod. With that Erika hugged her tightly again. Tamina grunted when Walker suddenly hopped over the middle seat as Erika had done, sandwiching her between them and joining the hug.
"Alright, I'm gonna get in on this..." Tamina heard Kyohei say from the front, followed by the sound of his seat belt unbuckling.
"Yup, me too." Saburo's voice followed.
Both guys climbed back and roughly joined the group hug happening in the middle seat. Tamina couldn't hold in her laughter and let out a groan as everyone around her gave a big squeeze.
"Hey!" Walkers voice chimed. "This reminds me of this part in this erotic manga I read once where-"
"Damn it Walker, don't make it weird." Kyohei cut him right off.
The barrage or questions Tamina received upon her return home wasn't any more forgiving. She'd tried to play it off, assuring the twins that it wasn't anything serious, but after they'd insisted on seeing the injury, there was no curbing their frenzy.
"What happened?!" Even Kururi's voice had a surprised inflection.
"WHO DID IT?!" Mairu demanded.
Despite Tamina's many assurances that it was just an accident and she was fine, the girl's boisterous doting couldn't be contained. They insisted she sit and relax while they waited on her hand and foot.
"Are you hungry?"
"Does it hurt?"
"Need anything?"
Every gesture was really sweet, but Tamina felt quite overwhelmed and incredibly inadequate. Especially since caring for these two was her job. Not the other way around. She tried to participate in the less strenuous house hold chores but the girls just wouldn't have it, insisting she rest while they took care of everything. She eventually came to rest on the couch, quietly wishing the two would keep this helpful mentality long after her injury. They were proving to be much more capable then they'd initially let on. When the nagging pain began to return to her head a little too sharply, she sought the medication Shinra had given her. She popped two pills and plopped herself back on the couch to try and relax and watch TV while the twins continued to take care of her usual responsibilities. Nothing particularly interested her so she settled on the news, idling listening and leaning against the back of the couch as the grogginess that the medicine caused started to set in. Her eyes became half lidded and she started to dose.
She was a little startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder, eyes jerking back open just as she'd been on the cusp of sleep. Silently, Kururi came to sit on the couch next to her and guided her to lay down. Tamina's head came to rest of Kururi's lap and she smiled to herself. As the more quiet twin, these bouts of affection often took her by surprise, but she appreciated the gesture all the same. It wasn't strange or awkward anymore when the girls chose to show her love. It was welcomed.
Kururi didn't say anything, just silently stroked Tamina's hair and watched whatever was on TV. Now laying down, Tamina's sleepiness was even more difficult to fight. Again, she nearly slipped into sleep but Mairu's voice called from down the hall. "So! Do I really have to separate whites and colors?" She asked.
Tamina was pulled back to reality. The idea of Mairu handling the laundry nearly caused her to get up, but she was just too comfortable and tired. "Yes." She called back groggily.
"But what if I...didn't..?" Mairu asked again, a hinting in her voice.
"Just leave it! I'll take care of it tomorrow." Tamina replied, barely able to keep her eyes open at this point.
"No way! I got this!" Mairu insisted. "How many scoops of detergent, like three?"
"One!" Tamina called back. "Barely one!"
"One! Right!"
Though Tamina's mind fiercly protested the thought of Mairu potentially ruining all of their clothes, she couldn't respond anymore. Her brain promptly shut down, giving into the nap she desperately needed.
Tamina woke to fading light. It was early evening and the apartment was growing dark. The TV still idling played the local news and weather. She found herself surrounded by warmth. Her head still rested on Kururi's lap, who was awake, still silently watching the TV. She glanced down, and noticed Mairu had at some point squeezed into the space between her and the back of the couch and rested partially on top of her, enjoying a nap as well. Tamina shifted a little, but Mairu simply nuzzled into her further, her head on Tamina's side. It wasn't until the buzz of the dryer sounded that Mairu perked up. "Huh?" She blurted pressing up on her arms and pushing her glassed back up the bridge of her nose.
"The laundry." Kururi said flatly.
"Oh, yeah, yeah." Mairu realized, reluctantly untangling herself and going to check.
Tamina sat up and gave a stretch. According to the time on the cable box she'd been out for a little over two hours. "Are you hungry?" She asked Kururi through a stifled yawn.
"We'll have take out." Kururi replied blankly, eyes never leaving the TV.
"You guy had take out last night. I'm okay to cook." Tamina insisted.
"Why is this stuff still all wet?!" Mairu's irritated voice called down the hall.
Tamina blinked, casting a glance in her direction. "Did you set the temperature?"
There was a pause followed by a long groan. "There are settings for this thing too?" Mairu asked.
Tamina heaved a sigh, rubbing her eyes to wake up some more. "You know what? Take out is fine." She told Kururi. "Just get your sister away from the laundry."
Once the girls stepped out to pick up some dinner, Tamina headed right for the bathroom. A nice hot shower was just what she needed.
Her head hung back as she thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of the steamy water running through her long hair and down her body. After the last two days she desperately needed it. She scrubbed her body and face feverishly, then began the task of carefully washing her hair. She winced as she did, still extremely tender headed. She hoped that would start to fade soon. Again, she ran her fingers over each staple in her now healing wound, still not quite used to the feeling.
She lingered under the hot water for a while longer. It wasn't until the water started to cool down from over use that she turned the shower head off. She let out a content sigh, reaching out of the shower and blindly feeling for a towel. She blinked when she didn't feel anything, leaning out of the shower to look and found herself puzzled. There was no towel there. That was pretty strange. She swore that she had put one there before she'd gotten in. Maybe she'd just forgotten. She was recovering from a head injury. With that thought she huffed a breath, stepping out of the shower. She shuffled over to the small linen closet where she kept the extra towels, careful not to slip. When she pulled it open a cool feeling sunk into her still hot flesh. There were no towels there either...
Tamina pursed her lips, her brow becoming tight. Something was definitely off here. Though it wasn't unlike her to forget to grab a towel before her shower, she knew for a fact there should be extras in here. Her eyes shifted to the bathroom door. It was slightly ajar. Now she felt uneasy.
She summed up her nerves. She padded to the door and pulled it completely open slowly, peeking into the hall. When she didn't find or hear Kururi or Mairu's familiar voices, she decided to slowly make her way down the hall. There was a hum coming from her room. She could hear it upon her cautious approach. It was the sound of her TV. That was the last straw. She didn't know what was going on, but she was becoming agitated. She slowly pushed the door to her bedroom open and immediately scowled.
Izaya smiled broadly from his place lounging on her bed flipping through channels on her TV. Tamina's irate expression intensified when she saw the stack of towels he'd collected on the bed next to him. He didn't seem at all fazed though. In fact, he looked quite pleased. His eyes moved away from her clearly angry face and panned down to enjoy the perfect view of her still soaked, nude body. It had been a while, but he remembered.
Though he didn't often find himself admiring humans for their bodies, he couldn't deny that he liked hers. Her breasts were on the smaller side, no more than a handful, but they felt just right. In his mouth especially... There was a slope of great contrast between her waist and her hips that he particularly enjoyed too. And when his fingers gripped them tight... He shifted a bit, surprised by the effect his memories of the last time he'd seen her like this tugged at him. Her figure was just another thing about her that hadn't been important to him at all at first, but nagged at his mind more and more over time.
It was only a momentary lapse, and one he'd never let her onto, so he quickly regained his typical facade. "Miss Takeda!" He greeted her, obnoxious as usual. "You're looking extra beautiful today! Did you do something different?" He tilted his head, scanning over her one more time teasingly.
"This isn't funny." She told him sternly, marching over to snatch one of the towels off her bed.
"What?" He asked innocently. "It's nothing I haven't seen before." He justified.
"Why are you here, Izaya?" She asked. Irritation dripped from her voice as she turned away from him and wrapped the towel around her body.
"I'm checking on you." He said simply. "Shinra put me under the impression you might be hurt."
She scoffed. "Like you give a damn." She crossed the room to her dresser to find some clothes.
"You seem irritated." He pointed out the obvious.
She could just hear the smirk in his voice, even with her back turned and it just pissed her off more. "For your information," She shoved a shirt over her head, too impatient to put on a bra. It was over sized and hung loosely off her bare shoulder. "I got hurt because of you."
"Seems like you need to learn how to take care of yourself better." He replied pretty unfazed, attention returning to the TV.
She huffed at that, shoving the drawer shut and roughly opening another. "If you feel that way then why help me the first time?" She asked.
He let a low chuckle. "You should have noticed by now, Miss Takeda, I do everything on my own agenda."
"And on your agenda today is, what? Harass and confuse me some more?" She pulled out a pair of small shorts she wore to bed.
"Actually I was leaning more toward you climbing into bed with me here so we can watch these people with the piss poor budget fawn over luxury apartments with open floor plans, mahogany floors and stainless steel appliances." He gestured toward the TV with the remote and said simply.
Finally she looked back at him. "So you save me and make out with me one day, dismiss me and blatantly disregard my safety the next. Why?"
"I wish you wouldn't keep making me repeat myself, Miss Takeda. It really takes away from all that hard work your pretty face does." He said, provoking another scowl from her. He smirked at this. Pushing every single one of her buttons was just another things he found himself a little too thoroughly enjoying. "I just like to see what humans do... Anyway, you can hardly keep blaming me for your misfortunes. I only give you a little push, one way or another. You do all the rest." He shrugged.
She knew he was right to some degree, but wouldn't give him the satisfaction. "Your mental instability is really becoming an exhausting part of my life."
He gave a stretch, folding his arms comfortably behind his head. "There you go. Always taking jabs at my sanity... I forgive you though. And I still love you."
Tamina rolled her eyes at that. "No sane person would do the things you do." She mumbled, turning away from him again, pulling the length of her hair over her shoulder and patting it dry with the towel. "Why are you here, Izaya?" She asked again.
"Well," Tamina was startled when his voice came from much closer than she expected. Just behind her. She hadn't heard the bed shift or his footfall at all. How did he always do that? He was like a damn ninja. He was amused when she suddenly became rigid with surprise, but he went on. "I told you I had something to talk to you about."
"What?" She said in a breath.
She tensed further when she heard him move. His hand moved over her shoulder and placed a thick envelope on her dresser in front of her. She looked at it curiously. It wasn't the sort that her payments usually came in and was obviously quite full. Her lips parted to question, but she stopped when a jolting sensation took her by surprise. With her hair over her shoulder her neck was completely exposed, and she foolishly wondered how she hadn't expected Izaya to seize any opportunity he was presented with. He knew the exact spot too... He'd easily figured it out in their brief intimate times before. Toward the back of her neck right at the dip of her shoulder. Her most sensitive area. He pressed his mouth to it, letting a hot breath escape.
Despite the intrusion of her space and usual irritation at the liberties he enjoyed taking toward her and her body, an involuntary shiver coarsed through her. She practically melted, her body as responsive to him as always. She could feel him smirk against her skin. But just when she thought he'd make his next move, he just planted the smallest kiss there, then leaned back and moved away, giving her space again.
There was an awful mix happening inside her. She hated how easily he could excite her but now that he had, there was an all too familiar ache inside. One she wasn't confident she could fight. His pulling away should have come as a relief, and it did to a degree, but not as much as she felt it should have.
When she regained a little focus, her eyes came to the envelope on her dresser again. Flustered and impatient now, she relented her questioning and grabbed and opened it. She pulled out a stack of pictures and silently started to shuffle through them.
Izaya perched himself on the edge of her bed, his vicious smirk returning to his face as he watched and waited for her reaction. He could already see it, in the twitch of the corner of her lips and growing tension in her brow. He thought her color might be fading a bit too. He studied her features as they became heavy with discomfort. Pain could be quite an intimate thing, and like everything else, he wanted to fully see and analyze it. Especially in her...
He was quite correct in his observations. Tamina felt cold, and her heart was traveling up and up from her chest high into her throat. She tried to keep somewhat composed as she examined every picture closely before flipping to the next. "What is this?" She asked, almost inaudibly.
"Well!" Izaya's tone was far too chipper for a moment like this. "When you said you hadn't heard from your mom I thought that was really strange, so I looked into it. Maybe there's a reason she hasn't reach out to you. Seems your step daddy's been a busy man since you've been gone!"
In the first few pictures Tamina recognized her step sisters middle school. They'd never been close, as she lived with Toshiro's first wife and didn't come over often, but Tamina had gone to a few of her swim meets and knew the pools in the photos when she saw them. What distressed her though, was the pictures of her step father. He appeared to have taken a position as the coach of this young girls swimming team. That thought alone caused a long buried fear to start to swell inside Tamina, but she pressed through the rest of the photographs. She couldn't help a huffed breath when it resurfaced in full force, the pictures becoming more candid, showing her step father in secluded parts of the auditorium or near locker rooms with some of the girls. Each girl looked horribly uncomfortable and he wore an expression she knew all too well. A hungry expression. The face on a predator.
She couldn't take it anymore, shoving the pictures back in the envelope and dropping it back on her dresser. Her heart throbbed heavy in her chest. Somehow she managed to focus on Izaya's voice when it came again. "The most well regarded attorney in Shibuya coaching his daughter's swim team. I imagine it paints a nice picture for those who don't know better. There are only a few practices before the school year starts. I'm sure he'll be more 'full time' when that happens..."
"Why?" Tamina looked at Izaya, unable to restrain her pained expression any longer.
Again, he just smiled back at her. "I thought you'd like to know." With that her face became tight with anger and he knew she was about to fire back at him. "Ah! Ah!" He halted her with a raised hand. "Don't do that again." He warned, but never lost his smirk. "Don't go getting mad at me for the things you're responsible for. I didn't have to tell you about this at all."
Her mouth was tight, suppressing the outburst she'd wanted to have. She'd wanted to scream at him. She was right back to borderline hating him. But with his words, it dissipated. He was right. Again. Like so many things before, she had done this... She'd run away, and selfishly thought the problem had vanished. But it hadn't. Like a disease, it spread. With that the anger was gone and her internal crumbling began again. "So why did you?" She asked, voice now shaken.
When he didn't answer right away she looked to him. His smirk widened to a toothy grin. "To see what you'll do..."
Tamina watched him carefully, but realized she'd half expected his answer. Of course he did. His whole 'people in extraordinary circumstances' idea came to her head and she realized the puzzles with him would likely never end. But she couldn't focus entirely on that. Despite whatever angle he may be playing here, this was something she couldn't allow herself to ignore. It dumped salt in all of her old wounds, but the prospect of going on blind to it was something she didn't take comfort in either. She supposed it was best he did tell her. "I'm going to stop it..." She finally said.
Izaya nodded at that. "Want help?"
She looked to him with a hefty feeling of doubt. "You're gonna help me?" Her tone wasn't convinced at all.
"Well, I am an informant. I've dug up more than just those pictures."
She eyed him suspiciously now. "What's it gonna cost?"
"I'll cut you a deal." He said.
"I'm not sleeping with you again." She interrupted curtly.
He laughed. "Relax. I don't accept payments in sex anyway. I've got this deal with only a few others around here, so consider yourself lucky. I'll help you, but only how I see fit. And eventually, if I need a favor in return..." He trailed off, but she caught his meaning.
She contemplated on it hard. She absolutely hated the idea of being indebted to Izaya. Her mind wandered to Kyohei and her friends. Then they shifted to Shizuo... There was a heaviness inside her with that, but when her eyes found the envelope on her dresser again she reluctantly and painfully buried it. "Okay..."
"Great! I'll start working on it." Izaya said, suddenly pushing off her bed and heading to the window.
Tamina watched him curiously and was about to question, but Mairu's voice distracted her. "We're back!" She heard the bubbly twin call from down the hall.
When Tamina's eyes returned to the window Izaya had already pulled it open and climbed out. She rushed over, leaning out to watch him begin effortlessly climbing down the buildings fire escape. "What are you doing?" She called to him, a little nervous watching him jump from one landing to the next.
"Leaving without getting kicked or pepper sprayed! Good evening, Miss Takeda!" He called back.
"Hey!" Mairu's voice called to Tamina from her door.
Tamina was a bit startled, leaning back inside and straightening right away. "Hm?"
"Whacha doing?" Mairu asked curiously.
"Nothing!" Tamina insisted, promptly slamming the window shut.
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