Wow this took a long time I apologize. I've been busy with work with the end of the school year approaching. But another 2 weeks and schools will be out so I will (hopefully) have more time to write! This chapter was going to be longer but I still have questions for my tech-literate boyfriend before I could finish it, so I had to cut it in half to get at least something out for you guys. Enjoy!
…~-~...
Another week passed in a similar fashion. Shizuo had been by three times including their first shopping trip. The second trip had been short. Izaya needed to pick up a couple pre-made meals from the convenience store, some more tea, some envelopes, and five flash drives.
Shizuo had given a confused look prompting Izaya to mention that while he was only taking jobs he could complete from home, he still had some information that needed to be sent directly out, via the flash drives in the mail.
"Some people prefer having the info they pay for sent that way so if they have to wipe their computer on a whim they already have it backed up."
"Why do you have to do that? Can't they just save it themselves and buy their own damn flash drive?"
"Yes, but it all comes down to personal preference. They feel that they would rather never have the file on their computer in the first place and just access it only through the flash drive. Older people mostly, who don't know too much about computers. It doesn't make a difference to me though. I just include the flash drive and postage in their fee. Sometimes I'll even charge double or triple if I don't like their attitude."
"That's fucked up of you," Shizuo commented.
"That's my job," Izaya responded with a smile.
A few days later, Izaya ran low on cooking supplies and needed to go back to the grocery store. And now, after another 4 days, Shizuo was once again at Izaya's door.
"Where to today?" Shizuo grumbled when Izaya's frame emerged from the door. He couldn't help but notice that the damn book shelf was still in front of the door, replaced every time Izaya returned home.
"Post office," he said, lifting the addressed envelopes in his hand.
"That's it?" Shizuo wondered.
"Yes. Sorry if you think I'm wasting your precious time," Izaya shot, stepping past Shizuo as he spoke.
But Shizuo barely noticed his words. He was focused on something else.
How can it be that he looks even smaller today?
…~-~...
Izaya hadn't gotten any sleep. None. Not even a small nap. In addition, the only thing he had ingested in the past 24 hours was about 6 cups of coffee.
It hit him that he was probably dehydrated when he made it onto the street with Shizuo close behind. He felt as if everything was on a lag. An annoying lag like when a video is playing and the sound is off just enough that it's bothersome. On top of it all, he had barely eaten any of the food he had bought in the past week and a half. He felt as if he was only buying the food to keep up the appearance that he was still eating. He wanted it to seem like everything was normal aside from the man currently walking calmly behind him who usually would be chasing him away.
"Hey,"
Speaking of whom…
"What?"
Shizuo hesitated. "You okay? You're slower than usual."
Great. So it was noticeable.
"And you look like crap," he added, "Have you been eating? Or sleeping?"
"Why the sudden concern, Shizu-chan?" Izaya asked, attempting to be subtle about picking up the pace.
"I dunno," he shrugged, "It's kinda hard to be a bodyguard if I can't protect the body from itself."
Izaya felt offended at that statement, yet at the same time he wasn't sure how to respond. Was Shizuo showing concern for him? It didn't make sense. He was exhausted and his brain was refusing to work properly at the moment. Fortunately, Shizuo didn't continue to pry…
Or so he thought he wouldn't.
"What have you eaten today, Izaya?" Shizuo asked on the way back from the post office.
Izaya didn't answer. Shizuo spoke as if he already knew the answer anyway so he didn't see the point.
"Did you sleep?" he added.
"Yes," Izaya said.
"Liar," Shizuo replied.
"Why bother asking questions you already know the answer to?" Izaya spat.
Shizuo shrugged again and ran his fingers through this hair. Izaya could just barely see his roots showing through.
"I thought maybe… you were so busy that maybe you didn't even notice you forgot to eat or sleep. Are you hungry at all?"
"No," Izaya said flatly.
"You sure?" Shizuo pressed, "We can make a stop for food if you want."
"No," Izaya repeated, "I just want to go home."
…~Five Hours Later~...
Izaya didn't feel safe.
One minute he was considering scrounging up something small to eat, and the next his stomach was threatening to come up through his esophagus as he stared out the window of his apartment.
"Damn bastard is just trying to fuck with me now, isn't he?" Izaya whispered to himself as he stared at the bench across the street where Jiro sat, reading as newspaper with headphones in his ears as if he were a regular citizen on a break from work.
With shaking hands, Izaya took out his phone and dialed Shizuo's number, not daring to take his eyes off the man on the bench.
"Hello?"
"Shizuo I need you to come over immediately."
"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding on alert.
"Just hurry and plan to… plan to possibly stay overnight."
There was a pause on the other end causing Izaya to wonder if the call had dropped until Shizuo finally spoke again.
"Yeah, okay. I'll be there soon."
"Hurry and stay alert," Izaya said before hanging up.
Izaya's eyes stayed locked on Jiro even as he set his phone down on the desk. He didn't miss the way Jiro stopped to check his watch immediately after Izaya had hung up.
Something connected in Izaya's brain in that second. It connected and caused any color remaining in Izaya's face to drain and left his body feeling numb and detached from his mind.
"You…" he began, "You're listening to me, aren't you…?"
On cue, Jiro from outside reached up to adjust his headphones before lifting his eyes up to Izaya's window and smiling. It was a mocking smile and Izaya could practically hear his voice saying "took you long enough" in his smug tone.
Izaya leapt from his seat and closed the blinds. From the street it's difficult to see into the apartment during the day, but seeing as the sun was beginning to set, if any lights were on inside the apartment the place became a giant fishbowl with the large windows allowing easy viewing to the interior.
He would have to search the place top to bottom and remove any microphones or cameras Jiro might have placed.
Goosebumps appeared on his skin and he shuddered at the thought that Jiro had been inside his apartment. He must have been watching from somewhere unseen for Izaya to leave the place unattended and the door unbarricaded. He didn't doubt Jiro could have picked the lock and snuck a listening device-or two or three-into the apartment.
Izaya stopped himself for a moment. He needed to collect himself. If he began frantically searching for cameras he could skip over possible hiding spots in a panic. Slowly exhaling, Izaya took a seat on the couch and began scanning his apartment once over. The place was still fairly clean and uncluttered so there weren't too many places to hide cameras where they wouldn't be noticed.
First he could check where Harima Mika had hidden hers. Being a stalker, she had some experience and knew good places. The first one of hers he had found in the plant near the window. It was close to his desk so it was great for listening in, but easier to spot when looking for it.
… Nothing there…
Behind the couch was where he had found another.
Izaya turned on the flashlight on his phone and aimed the light behind the couch.
Nothing.
Maybe under the couch? That would be a good spot and someone healthy could lift it enough to sneak something underneath, however Izaya's arms were still too weak to lift it on his own…
Izaya nearly jumped out of his skin when there was a knock at the door. However, instead of heading directly for the door (he would need to move the shelf to be able to see through the peephole, one major flaw of the barricade), Izaya ran over to the window to peek through the blinds.
Jiro was gone.
Did he leave in time so Shizuo wouldn't see him? Or did he time it so that Izaya would think Shizuo was at the door and open it unsuspectingly?
No, that wouldn't make sense. Shizuo was coming meaning Jiro wouldn't have enough time to accomplish anything before Shizuo showed up.
Unless he found a way to stall Shizuo…
...vrrr… vrrr… vrrr… vrrr…
His phone ringing pulled him out of his panicked thoughts. Checking the display which said "Shizu-chan", Izaya let out a breath and answered.
"Shizu-chan?"
"Yeah, I'm here. At the door. You can open up now."
"You're alone, right?"
There was a short pause.
"Yeah."
"Why did you hesitate?"
"I was checking to make sure no one followed me. Why, did someone try to get in?" he asked urgently.
"Hold on, I'm coming to the door," Izaya said.
Hanging up the phone, Izaya headed back over to the door where he removed the bookshelf, unlocked the deadbolt, took down the security chain, and finally opened the door.
Before stepping aside to let Shizuo in, Izaya stuck his head out the door and glanced either way down the hall.
"I didn't see anyone on my way up," Shizuo said.
"Okay. Just come in."
"So what's the emergency?" Shizuo asked after removing his shoes and placing his bag on the floor.
Izaya gave no response as he locked and barricaded the door once again.
Izaya was still for a moment, his head resting against the shelf with his back to Shizuo. He was silent, leaving Shizuo to wonder if he was going to respond at all.
Finally, just when Shizuo was going to give up on receiving an answer, Izaya spoke, albeit at a whisper.
"He was outside the building." His voice was quiet and small, but Shizuo heard every word.
"'Was' meaning he's gone now?" Shizuo asked heading over to the window. "You can't point him out to me?"
Not that Shizuo would have needed to have the man pointed out. The glimpse he caught of his face in the video as well as his voice were burned into his memory. However Izaya didn't need to know that detail.
Izaya shook his head in reply. "He's been listening," he added.
"What?" Shizuo asked, not understanding what Izaya had said.
Izaya finally turned around but his voice remained barely above a whisper.
"While I was out…" Izaya took a silent, deep breath. Shizuo could see his hands shaking despite his effort to hide them in the pockets of the hoodie he was wearing. "While I was out-I don't know when-he must have gotten in and hid microphones. Maybe even cameras. All I know for sure is that he's been listening."
It was now Shizuo's turn to be silent. It was a disturbing thought even for Shizuo who wasn't the target. He could only imagine how Izaya might be feeling right now, knowing the man who had caused him so much pain was spying on him.
"I need to search the apartment. Can you help me lift the couch?"
"Yeah, Sure," Shizuo didn't question Izaya. He didn't want to start anything right now. The air in the room was heavy with the weight of the situation. The two silently agreed to put aside their conflicting personalities and years of fighting one another in order to complete a thorough search of the apartment.
The couch would have been impossible for Izaya, Shizuo concluded. He could see the pain just barely showing on his face simply from crouching down on the floor while Shizuo lifted the heavy piece of furniture.
"See anything?" Shizuo asked, effortlessly holding the couch up. He could have lifted the thing over his head to help look, but he didn't want to risk breaking something. There was no way he could afford to replace anything he broke in Izaya's place.
"Yeah," came Izaya's solemn response from under the couch. He stood, clutching something small and black in his hand. "You can put that down now."
Shizuo replaced the couch to see what Izaya held in his hand. It seemed to be a small microphone. Shizuo risked a glance at Izaya's face. Izaya was staring at the thing with a glare that said he was ready to smash the thing with a hammer; however, to Shizuo's surprise, Izaya only turned the device off and gently set it on his desk.
"There could be more," he said, "Let's keep looking."