Once again this took much longer than I anticipated and it's still super short.. But it's the second half of the last chapter finally completed so there's that! I will try to write more later since I was struggling with how I wanted this scene to go for the longest time, but I have a plan now for how to continue from here!
So I apologize for the wait, but like I said I promise not to drop this fic! I have a plan now and will stick to it!
Thank you for the support!
…~-~...
Shizuo stared in a daze for a few moments as Izaya rushed over to his computer and began typing commands and opening programs that Shizuo didn't recognize. Knowing that asking what he was doing would likely produce an answer he wouldn't understand, Shizuo decided to follow orders and began looking around the room for anything suspicious.
It didn't take long…
"Uhh… Izaya…?"
Shizuo had stared for a moment before finally speaking up, considering the implications of this specific camera's placement. It was small, but he could see a lense meaning this camera was taking video.
"What?" Izaya asked, looking through the windows open on his monitor.
"I found one,"
Izaya stepped away from his task to see where Shizuo was pointing. The camera was under the desk. Taped to the underside and pointing directly at the front of his chair.
Shizuo tried to judge Izaya's reaction but it was difficult. He went pale as he stared at it for a minute. He wondered if Izaya was thinking the same thing as him…
He wasn't very smart, but this camera was placed in a pretty clear view once you got below the desk level. As if the person who placed it wasn't even trying to hide it. Shizuo couldn't help but feel this camera was supposed to be found.
It was a message.
That Jiro was watching.
Specifically Izaya's... Lower half…
With a sudden, swift movement, Izaya finally moved, tearing the camera out from under the desk and slamming it onto the floor where it smashed to pieces. Without a word he stormed back to his computer and began clicking around once more.
This time Shizuo decided to ask, mainly to take his mind off the view that the now smashed to pieces camera had.
"So, what are you doing?" he asked as he stepped behind Izaya.
"Checking for any new devices connected to the WIFI," he said, "Cameras like that need to be connected to a network in order to get a live feed."
Shizuo was surprised that made sense to him. Izaya probably wasn't in the mood to confuse him and was likely simplifying what he was doing to something anyone could understand.
"Oh, so did you find anything?" Shizuo wondered aloud.
"No, not on my network," he replied, "But that would have been too easy anyway. He would have made it a bit more difficult."
Shizuo watched Izaya disconnect from his network and click another and enter the password.
"Wait, do you have two WIFI things?"
"Of course not, this is my neighbor's," Izaya said.
"Oh," Shizuo paused, "Wait, you know your neighbor's WIFI password?!"
"Who do you take me for, Shizu-chan?" Izaya replied, sounding pleased with himself. "But watch. All I have to do is open their router administration page to see what devices are connected and go through each one to see what it is until I find the camera system."
"How will you know when you find it?"
"Most systems will present a log-in page like—that," Izaya pointed at the screen when he opened the next device. If he wanted me to find this—which I suspect he did—he probably didn't change the default password on the system."
Shizuo stared, wide-eyed as Izaya tried a couple possible default passwords until finally he was logged on to the system.
"Now we let the cameras reveal themselves," Izaya said, and with one click 6 windows opened on the screen, each displaying a different place in Izaya's apartment, except for one, which was blank. It was likely the one they'd just found on their own.
Shizuo sat at the computer and watched as Izaya went around to where each camera had been pointing and was quickly able to identify where each camera was placed. On the screen, Izaya's face came into view briefly before one by one the screens went black.
Although thankful that none of the screens showed the bathroom, Shizuo still was disturbed by what he had seen. Especially the final camera which was aimed at Izaya's bed.
Finally, disabled cameras in hand, Izaya came down the stairs, dropping the 5 cameras on the table and collapsing into the couch.
"Is that all of them?" Shizuo asked wearily.
"Yeah, I think so. I think this was mostly a warning so he intentionally didn't take it too far."
"'DIDN'T TAKE IT TOO FAR?!'" Shizuo finally snapped with sudden force causing Izaya to jump slightly, remembering who he was with, "HE'S BEEN WATCHING YOU ON MULTIPLE CAMERAS AND THAT'S NOT TOO FAR?!"
"You don't know what he's capable of. This is nothing."
Shizuo froze at Izaya's calm statement. For an instant the crack of a whip and a scream rang in his head, instantly silencing him.
Izaya sat up and gave Shizuo a curious look. "Why so silent all of the sudden?"
"N-nothing…" Shizuo said quietly, "I was just thinking… you're right I… don't know about this guy at all. I was just thinking… you might be able to tell me? So I can know what we're up against."
It was a bold question for anyone to ask. Even more bold since Shizuo actually did have an idea of what kind of relationship Jiro had to Izaya.
"There isn't enough money in the world to buy that bit of information from me." Izaya said, surprisingly keeping his calm. With the glare he was just given, Shizuo fully expected a knife to come flying at his face.
Yet Shizuo felt a touch daring. "I wasn't asking to buy it from you," he replied.
"What, you think I'd just tell you for free?" Izaya spat, leaping to his feet. "If you're going to ask too many questions then you're fired. I can get another body guard."
"No, you can't." Shizuo stated. "I know you can't. Otherwise you never would have asked me in the first place." Shizuo couldn't help but feel proud when Izaya's mouth snapped shut and he sat back down forcefully. He had successfully made Izaya shut up for the first time since they'd met. Although the pride quickly melted away to pity with the weight of the situation.
"Listen," Shizuo began, "I won't keep bothering you about it… It's really not my business, so just forget about it."
Izaya lifted his eyes to meet Shizuo's again. They stayed like that for a few minutes, neither thinking much beyond studying each other's eyes. Izaya felt a sense of longing at the strength that remained in Shizuo's eyes, while Shizuo studied the emptiness and exhaustion in Izaya's.
It was Shizuo who finally broke the silence. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Let's order some takeout and just… watch a movie or something."
Taken aback by the friendly suggestion, Izaya's eyes widened for an instant that Shizuo didn't miss despite Izaya quickly breaking eye contact.
"Okay," he whispered.