I didn't spend as much time editing this chapter as I planned and I'm very tired right now so I hope it flows okay and there's no mistakes...
Thank you all so much for reading and commenting. Your comments really help me out moving forward with this fic. I have the rest of the story pretty much set, I just have to get it written out! It took a while for me to get a solid chain of events from this point up until the end but I feel pretty good about what I have laid out now!
…~-~...
Jiro turned his phone off. He needed a few minutes to think and the constant incoming messages from his colleagues was getting on his nerves. On top of that, the last message he'd received was concerning.
He was looking for a partner. Someone he trusted to help him make preparations to capture Izaya. He knew Izaya wouldn't fall for the same tricks twice; thus, he may need some assistance.
But the responses…
"[What? You never told me you were messing around with that Orihara guy! I'm out. Deal's off!]"
"[Take out Heiwajima Shizuo? No, I've heard way too many stories about that guy. It's too risky.]"
"[Orihara Izaya? Doesn't he do business with the yakuza? I don't want to get involved in that!]"
He'd heard the stories about Heiwajima, but they were hyperbolic. Sure the man was likely strong as looks can be deceiving, but there was no way the man could effortlessly kick a car down the street. Rumors spread too quickly and could easily be misconstrued.
Yet still…
Izaya had apparently become a bit more of a figure of fear over the past few years. That much he could believe. The cocky child he knew seven years ago could easily scare the average person even as a teenager. But Jiro was noticing more and more that the mention of the name Orihara Izaya had even some seasoned folk in the underground concerned, some outright refusing to associate with him because of his interest in the young informant.
He recalled what Izaya had said the last he spoke with him.
"It's been seven years. I may be Orihara Izaya, but I am not the Orihara Izaya you knew."
Perhaps he shouldn't completely discredit the threat. On the surface Izaya didn't seem to be that much different, yet so many in Tokyo's underground knew his name. Perhaps there was something more to him now than there used to be.
The thought was exciting. Maybe Izaya would put up a decent fight after all?
Jiro turned his phone back on, ready to make a few calls to try to see what he could glean about Izaya's accomplishments over the past few years, but a new message caught his attention.
It was from Izaya himself. Only three words:
"Found you, 'Sato'."
…~-~...
"What could you possibly want from me?" Neikawa Haruna answered her phone in place of a greeting.
"That depends on what I am able to convince you to do for me," Izaya responded.
"I'm not cutting anyone else for you. I don't need you anymore."
Izaya sighed. "Unfortunately I thought that might be the case, though I wish there was a way I could change your mind?"
"If that's really all you called for then this conversation is over."
"Wait, don't hang up just yet. That's not everything. I will pay a considerable amount of money for some info if any of your… children have it. Now that I think about it perhaps even Takashi-"
"What do you want with Takashi?!" Haruna snapped.
"I just want to know if he knows someone. I'll send you a photo and some details. Just show him and tell me what he says and that's all. If he knows nothing you'll still get paid for your trouble and I'll leave you alone. But the more info you can get out of him the more I will pay."
Haruna paused, seeming to be considering the offer. Izaya closed his eyes, praying for the answer he needed. This was his best option.
"Fine." She finally answered and Izaya had to hold back from voicing his relief.
"But if he doesn't know anything we are done," she added.
"Deal. Sending the info now."
"I'll get back to you in twenty-four hours."
"Thank you. That is appreciated."
…~-~...
Finally. Finally something useful. Finally a lead. Some proper information he could do something with.
Nasujima Takashi didn't recognize the name "Kimura Jiro" but he did recognize the man in the photo as a man he'd once dealt with by the name of Sato Hiroto.
It only made sense that two pedophiles would know each other.
This "Sato Hiroto" had much more of a paper trail than Jiro himself much like the man's other aliases. But this one in particular happened to be part of an active human trafficking group in the area. He also was able to find two other aliases Jiro frequently used, one of which just recently checked into a local hotel two days ago and hadn't yet checked out.
"There you are…" he said to himself. Pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place in his mind as he considered his next steps forward. With a simple but effective plan in mind, Izaya decided to take the initiative and make contact.
Three simple words send to Jiro. He could only hope it would be unsettling to the man to be on the receiving end of being chased. Calling him by the name Sato would also reveal to Jiro what he had just discovered.
But that wasn't all.
Sato Hiroto was connected to a few other active members of Tokyo's undergound. Using a remote access trojan Izaya was able to hack into the computer of one of Jiro's colleagues who apparently hadn't taken internet safety 101, thus didn't know not to click on strange links in emails. Through this other individual he was able to dig up more names of others who worked for or with Jiro in any capacity.
His web of information was growing. The bigger picture was finally coming together.
Meeting times and locations, missing persons reports, photographs.
Evidence. An online paper trail so to speak.
Izaya grinned. His greatest advantage has always come from people who didn't understand that erasing your browser history doesn't completely erase the data for someone who knows where to look.
"The Awakusu won't be too happy to hear you've been active in their territory…" Izaya paused for a moment, suddenly recalling a certain "Red Demon" who might have a few things to say to someone who targets young women and children.
He quickly compiled the necessary information and sent it Akabayashi's way-anonymously of course. Akabayashi didn't exactly trust him as much as Shiki. And to say Shiki trusted him was a stretch as well.
He didn't expect the Awakusu or Akabayashi himself would take care of Jiro for him, but at the very least it would weaken Jiro's connections in the city and make it harder for him to hide. However there was always the chance that this could backfire. That this could only serve to anger Jiro and prompt him to take more drastic action than he had so far.
Izaya considered the possible outcomes before sending the information out. He had the upper hand this time. He would be expecting any possible retaliation from Jiro. He wouldn't be caught off guard like the first time they met.
Izaya closed his laptop just in time for the door of the apartment to open. Shizuo entered, looking particularly angry.
"Bad day?" Izaya asked, hopping up from the couch.
"No," Shizuo began followed by a long sigh, "Just some annoying people today."
Izaya crossed the room to put himself in front of Shizuo, reaching up to wrap his arms around his shoulders and going up on his toes briefly for a quick kiss. Before Izaya could pull away, Shizuo wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him back in to continue the kiss. Izaya let him have control, enjoying the way Shizuo seemed to explore him differently every time they kissed. He could tell Shizuo was trying to get a feel for what he liked but in reality he doubted there was anything Shizuo could do that he wouldn't enjoy.
When they finally parted, Izaya couldn't stop the grin spreading over his face.
"You seem to have had a good day unlike me," Shizuo pointed out.
Izaya smiled wider. "I have, actually. I think I finally found what I needed. I know where Jiro has set himself up, I know who some of his closer accomplices are, and I learned a new name of his that I can use to track him more closely."
Shizuo's jaw dropped slightly, clearly impressed and surprised at how much Izaya had found in such a short amount of time.
"What changed for you to get all of this?"
"Turns out I was just asking the wrong people for the wrong names. I hit one good source that gave me what I needed."
"So does that mean you have a plan?"
"Sort of. For now I am going to mess up some of his plans. Seven years ago the only major crimes I could pin on him directly were some photos of minors. With this new name I've got so much more incuding a human trafficking operation he's working on in Tokyo."
Shizuo's grip tightened a bit at that. He looked tense. He was likely trying not to let his anger get out of control but hearing about Jiro's progress was definitely getting to him. With a quick pat on Shizuo's shoulder, Izaya stepped back.
"Don't worry, Shizu-chan," he said, "That won't be around much longer. I'll make sure of that."
"What can I do to help?"
"If it's possible, could you take some time off work? I'll pay you of course, I just may need you around for a bit because what I've done today may really piss him off."
Shizuo looked concerned at that. "Okay, I'll talk to Tom. What did you do, exactly?"
"I just let our local yakuza group know someone's operating in their territory. One member in particular is very against harming children so he may step in and…" Izaya trailed off, slightly surprised to see a grin forming on Shizuo's face.
"All those years of your shitty schemes pissing me off and finally you do something… excellent."
Izaya laughed in response. "I can't believe it. Shizu-chan was brought over to the dark side!"
"More like you've been brought over to the side of justice, Mr. Vigilante," Shizuo said planting a kiss on Izaya's lips before he could form a rebuttal.
Izaya didn't want to admit it, but the way Shizuo kissed him made his knees weak every time. Really, how on Earth was he so good at it? Izaya suppressed a shudder when Shizuo's hand moved to the back of his head, holding him in place so he could deepen the kiss.
When he finally released, Izaya stumbled forward a bit, unable to get his balance back fast enough-a testament to how much he had been relying on Shizuo holding him up to prevent him from melting onto the floor.
Clearing his throat, Izaya spun around to hide the blush he knew was forming on his face. When he glanced back, he felt better to see that Shizuo wasn't completely unaffected either, a light blush forming as he turned his head away from Izaya's view.
"I'm um… I'm gonna clean up my stuff and then we can start dinner, okay?"
"Yeah, that sounds good," Shizuo replied.
…~-~...
After dinner Izaya decided to take a bath. He'd hoped the bath would be a good time to clear his head for a little while but it seemed he could never catch a break. All he could do was stare at the wall while his mind ran through every bit of information he had gathered over the past few days. From finding out what Shizuo knew already, to confessing to him, to their kissing, and of course to the information he'd learned about Jiro today.
He knew it would help to take a break from it all, but his thoughts refused to turn off. He'd lost track of time, he realized, when he shivered in response to the cooling bath water. It reminded him of the night he'd escaped when he fell asleep in the bath from exhaustion and the relief of being home…
As if in a trance, Izaya stood, drained the tub, and dried himself before wrapping the towel around his waist. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, looking over the various scars that covered his body. Stepping closer he looked at his own eyes. He could see he still appeared tired, yet he still felt much better than he had barely a week ago. Shizuo revealing what he knew was simultaneously just as stressful as it was relieving. He didn't have to hide what happened, but at the same time he really didn't feel like sharing more than was necessary.
His gaze dropped to his hip. Although it was partly covered by the towel, part of the kanji that was burned into his skin was visible. He hated that scar most of all. For years he'd been tempted to have it surgically removed. Shinra was a skilled plastic surgeon and could probably make it look like it was never there…
Yet he couldn't bring himself to do it. He'd managed to get away without explaining his scars to the hospital after he'd been stabbed by "Yodogiri" by paying off some of the doctors to not put it in his file. Shinra wouldn't be so easily denied an explanation.
His fingers ran over the scarred flesh, feeling the difference in texture from the rest of his skin. Searing pain… the smell of burning flesh…
Izaya flinched, taking his hand away. He could almost feel the scream in his throat from one of the most painful moments of his life. And right along with that was the largest scars on his body. Luckily he couldn't see them as easily, but the scars on his back were there. Ugly gouges marring what used to be clear and smooth skin.
The memory of that sound creeped its way into his head. The anticipation of the feeling of his skin being split and the blood pouring out from the wounds…
Shizuo saw that played back on video…
Shizuo…
As he thought the name Izaya saw him. Standing in the frame of the door, his eyes wide and staring.
Izaya wanted to scream. Wanted to tell him not to look. He felt exposed and violated having Shizuo look at his body like that but he couldn't speak or move. He hadn't even heard the door open. He was just… suddenly there.
Shizuo was the first to speak.
"I… knocked," he said quietly, "but you didn't answer so I…" He trailed off, his eyes drawn to the scars on Izaya's back.
Every fibre of his being was screaming at him to react. To kick him out, to tell him to forget what he saw and never speak about it again. The bathroom was beginning to feel much smaller and there was nowhere to escape. He wanted to run.
But he couldn't.
"It's… Okay." Izaya finally said. The words came out quietly. He wanted to say something else but he couldn't think of what to say.
He finally got what he wanted. His thoughts were empty now.