Yet another change in my life has happened. Being an adult is hard. But now I have a job for the next couple months. It's only part time but 2 part time jobs can be a hassle. I've had this chapter waiting for a bit because I was going to try and get a few more ahead before I released it but I decided it wasn't fair to hold on to it when the last one was somewhat of a cliffhanger. Still doing my best to keep the story going though. Once again, thank you for the comments and support! It really helps and I appreciate it more than you know!
…~-~...
"You should have told me you were back in Tokyo," Shinra said while examining Izaya's injured wrist.
"As if you'd really care," Izaya scoffed, "I'm pretty sure everyone was glad to be rid of me."
Shinra lifted his head to look at Izaya before responding. "You may be an ass but I do consider you my friend. A friend who made some less than ideal choices, but a friend nonetheless."
"I'm flattered, really," Izaya said plainly. However, it didn't feel bad to hear someone say that to him.
"I'm sure you are," Shinra said, returning to tend to Izaya's wrist. "So tell me in your words what happened. Shizuo wasn't very articulate when he explained."
"You shouldn't be asking such complicated things to someone with a concussion, Shinra-ow!"
A sharp pain shot up Izaya's wrist when Shinra moved it a certain way and Izaya could see the bastard try not to smile.
They were in a spare room where Shinra gave medical attention to the members of Awakusu-kai that Shiki would occasionally bring over. Izaya sat in a chair while Shinra had examined him. He'd determined Izaya had a mild concussion but was otherwise fine. His wrist was questionable. Not broken, but maybe a little worse than a regular sprain.
"Since you can still move it-albeit with pain-my diagnosis is a partially torn ligament," Shinra stood and began pulling items from a cabinet while he spoke. "We can wrap it for now, give you some ice and painkillers and whatnot but it will heal on its own in a few weeks."
Izaya didn't respond right away. He heard and was able to process most of what Shinra was telling him, but his thoughts were beginning to move elsewhere. Thinking about what had just happened to cause these injuries was something of a wake-up call for him. It was clear he would need to take more offensive action if he wanted to protect himself.
"Hey, are you listening?"
The hand waving in front of his face caught his attention more than Shinra talking to him. Izaya refocused his attention resigning to think about how to deal with Jiro later.
"You still need to tell me what happened," Shinra said, "Both as your doctor and as your friend I would like to know exactly how you got hurt."
"Don't think on it too much," Izaya said, slipping his usual mask back on, "It was just someone who has a grudge against me trying to get revenge. That's why I hired Shizuo, as he told you, to be my bodyguard."
"That raises more questions than it answers. I still don't get why you chose him so soon after you two fought the last time. How are you recovering from that? Honestly I'm surprised the strain on your wrist didn't re-fracture your arm. And who is this person that you can't deal with them how you usually handle your enemies?"
"It's complicated," Izaya mumbled, "he's smart enough to cover his tracks. Difficult to predict. So until I can, I asked Shizuo to be my bodyguard because I don't doubt his strength like I would others'."
Shinra was staring at him with an intense expression.
"I mean it when I said don't think about it too much," Izaya began, "I was caught off guard and because I am still recovering from being beaten to a pulp by Shizuo, I was overpowered. It won't happen again, and to answer your question, I do plan to handle this in the usual way. I am still working on a strategy since this one has a little more in the brains department than most of my problem clients."
Shinra seemed to consider the response for a moment, looking closely at Izaya in a silence that seemed to drag on for minutes despite only being roughly ten seconds.
"Fine," he said, "I won't pry if it's personal. I do want to know more about Shizuo's involvement with you, but that can come later. However I do need to know how the injuries themselves took place."
"My wrist was twisted too far, then got a hard hit to the head," Izaya said flatly.
"I suppose that's all I'm going to get out of you," Shinra replied with a shrug, "But I would like to observe you overnight because of that concussion. If you want to shower before I wrap your wrist you should do that now."
Izaya sighed, feigning disappointment at being required to stay. Truthfully, he felt better knowing he wouldn't be alone tonight under the roof of a friend and a real monster who was more or less on his side. The opportunity to take a shower and wash away the feeling of Jiro's hands on him was also welcome, and Izaya accepted.
…~Meanwhile~...
"[I'm not sure I understand what's going on… Or rather, why it's going on?]"
Shizuo was seated next to Celty on the couch, trying to work out how to explain what was happening without revealing how much he knew.
"It's… Complicated," he said.
"[Well, we have time, so explain!]" Celty responded.
"No what I mean is…" Shizuo struggled to come up with the proper words, "I honestly don't know how to explain it… I told you what happened up until now but I'm not so sure I can explain why."
"[So you just agreed to be his bodyguard? No questions?]"
"Well no, he had to ask me a few times before I agreed."
"[And you can't tell me why you agreed to help him?]"
Shizuo considered this for a moment. "It just… Felt like the right thing to do at the time."
"['The right thing to do'? To begin working for Izaya? So soon after he tried to kill you?]"
"I don't know. I told you it was complicated."
"[But there has to be a reason. You would never have anything to do with him unless there was a reason. Is he threatening you? Your family? If he is I swear I'll go force him to stop myself.]" Celty began standing up as if to do just that but Shizuo quickly pulled her back down.
"No, no, nothing like that," he said, trying to assure her.
"[What then? Please tell me! I just want to know he's not hurting you or forcing you into something bad.]" Celty demanded.
"I just… listen, he doesn't know this so please don't mention it to him… I just happened to learn something about him that I shouldn't know. Please don't ask me to tell you because I can't. Just know that it's the reason I agreed to help him and he doesn't know that I know, and it was enough of a reason to sort of temporarily forgive some things while he needs my help."
Celty stared at him for a moment, if it could be called staring without a head, her hands fidgeting with her phone. Finally she began typing a response.
"[You really can't tell me what you found out? Is it that bad?]"
"All I can say is it's something Izaya wouldn't want anyone to know and for once, given the circumstances I can respect that."
Celty hesitated. "[To be honest, I don't accept that answer. But if you really believe that you aren't being deceived, well, I trust your judgement.]" Celty showed her response and then quickly typed another, raising the message up and placing a hand on Shizuo's shoulder.
"[If he pulls anything call me right away I swear I'll kill him for you.]"
Shizuo laughed, though he didn't doubt Celty's capability or willingness to keep that promise. "I'll remember that, but I don't think it will be necessary. At least I'm hoping it won't come to that."
"Okay! That's enough alone time with my beloved!" Shinra's cheery tone came from around the corner, "Things are getting too intimate out here without me!"
Black shadows emerged from Celty's hand, wrapping themselves around Shinra's mouth to stop him from saying anything else. The shadows pulled Shinra closer as Celty stood, grabbing hold of the collar of his lab coat threateningly once he was close enough. Muffled sound came from behind the shadows as Shinra continued talking, presumably saying something perverted.
"So is he okay?" Shizuo asked, eager to know the diagnosis.
Celty released Shinra, letting him fall onto the couch and sitting back down so that he sat between herself and Shizuo.
"Oh, he'll be fine. Torn ligament in his wrist and a concussion. He just needs rest which is why I insisted he stay the night-Celty my apologies but we won't be alone tonight~!"
Celty jabbed Shinra in the side, making him double over.
The sound of water turning on caught Shizuo's attention, but Shinra explained before he could question it.
"I'll wrap his injuries once he's out of the shower. He'll be fine on his own for a few minutes."
Silence hung in the room for a moment while thoughts ran wild in Shizuo's head. He knew Izaya would physically recover, but there were so many other questions. It seemed Izaya wouldn't be safe at his own place anymore. He was thankful that Shinra had convinced him to stay here for the night. But what about after that? Shinra didn't know the danger…
"So you knew Izaya was back in Shinjuku when you called me that time, didn't you?" Shinra's tone and changed, and Shizuo quickly realized the serious question was intended for him.
"Ah…" he began, shifting in his seat, "Yeah, I did…"
"I had a feeling. It's not like you to ask about Izaya. There was also that rumor about you two being seen together. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know how to explain. I wasn't trying to decieve you. That particular day I only called because I had suggested Izaya call you and tell you himself, and you confirmed for me that he didn't."
"So explain now. I didn't get much out of Izaya and we have a couple minutes."
…~-~...
Izaya stared at his reflection in the mirror for a moment, still trying to pull his thoughts together. Having the night to think in peace would be an asset, if only he could think through the fog of anxiety he felt down to his core.
It was a little hazy-because of the concussion-but he could still hear that voice talking to him.
Promising him.
"Unfortunately things are not ready for me to take you tonight, but the time will come soon."
A shudder went through him, making him feel dizzy. The concussion might be worse than the symptoms he explained to Shinra, but time would tell whether or not that was true.
Tearing his eyes away from the mirror, Izaya turned the water on.
Hot.
As hot as he could stand it to burn away the repulsively familiar feeling of those hands on his skin.
Time slipped away for a moment while he stood under the water, his senses almost going blank while he forced himself to let go of the thoughts flying at him like daggers, ready to inflict agony. For a few minutes, there was only hot water, steam, and the white of the wall.
Once he was finally calm again, Izaya began washing. He forced his thoughts away from the cause of the pain in his wrist, simply taking a shower as he normally would.
…~-~...
"A word of caution, Shizuo," Shinra began, "Don't expect Izaya to reciprocate the kindness you are showing him by doing this service. He keeps a barrier between himself and others, only allowing people to get as close as he wants them to. I just don't want to see you pour your time and energy into doing this service for him and get nothing besides cold, hard cash in return."
"I understand the risk. It's not like I don't know the type of person he is," Shizuo replied, "But I'm starting to think…" Shizuo paused, "He might be capable, even just a little, of being genuine. On occasion. He did take me out for dinner earlier as thanks."
"Oh?" Shinra exclaimed sounding surprised, "Maybe you've done the impossible and gotten behind the barrier? I'm interested to know how that goes, but I still don't want to encourage you to get too close."
"I'll be on my guard." Shizuo checked the time on his phone. "He's been in there a while, should we check on him?"
"I'll go. You can leave him to me for tonight. Go home and relax for a bit. I'll call you if anything happens."
…~-~...
A knock on the door startled him. Izaya had been staring at the wall again, letting the water rush over him when Shinra came to check on him.
"Izaya?" He called, knocking once more, "You haven't passed out, have you?"
"Shut up," Izaya responded, turning off the water.
"That answers that," he heard Shinra say quieter, slightly muffled by the door. When he heard nothing else, Izaya stepped out of the shower and began toweling off and quickly dressed into the clothes he had been provided, being careful of his wrist. The pain was beginning to get worse.
When he exited the bathroom he was greeted by Shizuo waiting outside the door.
"I'm heading out," he said, "Shinra will wrap your arm in the other room. Try to get some rest and I'll come back tomorrow if you want."
Izaya nodded, though he wished Shizuo would stay as well. For a moment they stared at one another, both unsure of what else to say.
"Well I'll see you," Shizuo said, turning to leave.
The response was automatic. Izaya reached out faster than should be possible for someone with a concussion and grabbed Shizuo's hand, holding it tight in his own. He didn't even realize what happened until Shizuo turned around to look at him.
"I… uhh…" His throat went dry. He had to force himself to let go of Shizuo's hand. The warmth lingered. "Thank you. For coming to get me."
"You're welcome," Shizuo said, not acknowledging what Izaya had just done. "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah," Izaya spun around leaving the hallway as Shizuo left. His cheeks burned for a moment when it finally hit him how embarrassing that had been. Collecting himself was difficult but necessary if he was going to face Shinra again. Painkillers would be nice. Perhaps Shinra would give him enough to make him forget what he had just done so he could sleep properly.
"Come on, Izaya! I want to get some ice on that wrist and then you can tell me all about the lovely dinner you and Shizuo had earlier!"
It was going to be a long night.