"Damn that Heiwajima," Jiro spat fist slamming on the table, "How did he resist such a high dose for so long?"
Ishida was in deep concentration when he was startled by Jiro's sudden movement. Jiro kept Ishida Ichiro around due to his medical skills rather than his strength. It was helpful in situations like this. Currently he was finishing up stitching the wound left by the knife Shizuo had thrown.
"To be fair boss," Ishida began hesitantly after collecting himself, "you haven't really seen him in action. Especially when he chased Orihara around the city. The guy is a machine."
"Went down fast enough with the right gun," Jiro sneered.
"H-he's been shot before," Ishida replied nervously, applying bandages to Jiro's wound, "And I heard he got right back up."
"You mentioned that before, but I also heard the guy that shot him was a lousy shot," Jiro said, waving his hand dismissively, "I at least was able to hit somewhere more vital, though he unfortunately did throw off my aim. Wish I could have stayed to watch."
"Wait, you didn't confirm that he was dead?" Ishida said, pausing his work.
"Excuse me, I was a little busy with this!" Jiro said, pointing to the almost bandaged wound.
"F-forgive me, sir," Ishida said with a bow. He quickly got to finishing applying the bandage.
The truth was, Jiro had wanted to stay to confirm Shizuo had been taken out, but he was already struggling to keep standing with the knife in his side. Thankfully he'd been able to slip away before he lost too much blood. He wished he had more back up to have been able to take Izaya with him, but he didn't have enough people willing to help with his plan once they found out who he was messing with. He really underestimated Heiwajima Shizuo.
Behind him a phone rang. It only partially registered in his mind, which was occupied with plans on what he could try next if Shizuo survived. He half listened as Minato answered the call and paused for a moment. The long pause left Jiro somewhat curious as Minato was not the quiet type, but Minato's next words caught his full attention.
"Mother says you have orders?"
That was interesting. He knew for a fact that Minato's mother was dead. Was he talking in some kind of code? And who else would be giving one of his best men orders?
"What are you talking about, Minato?" Jiro asked, only half turned when Minato lunged forward, swiftly landing a solid punch on the side of Ishida's head. The smaller man instantly hit the ground, out cold.
"What the fuck are you d–" Jiro's words caught in his throat as Minato turned to face him. Something was wrong. His eyes had a vacant look to them, accompanied by an even more unsettling eerie red glow. "W-what is this, Minato?"
"Mother gave me orders," he responded in a monotonous tone, "I am to do as Orihara Izaya instructs."
"You what?!" He knew Izaya was fairly influential in the area but this was something else entirely. "What the fuck did that little shit do to you?!"
"Orihara Izaya would like to speak to you," Minato said.
A familiar sound from behind him startled him. Before he could react, a sharp sting hit Jiro in the back. He turned to see Fujimoto Yuito–eyes giving off that same red glow–pointing the tranquilizer gun in his direction.
"Son of a bitch!" Jiro cursed as he fell.
…~-~...
The construction site was quiet, the cold night breeze passing through the large, open space. It was late and the nearby buildings were empty, making this area largely uninhabited by people who could interfere. The open air allowed Izaya to avoid feeling trapped, leaving him calm as he breathed the fresh air in as deeply as he could. The meds Shinra gave him helped a lot, though Izaya knew once they wore off he'd be out of commission for a while when the pain from overexerting himself caught up with him. Still, he was feeling rather good about this.
Izaya had perched himself on a crate, legs swinging as he waited patiently for Jiro's Saika-afflicted subordinates to deliver the man to him. Behind him Celty stood, looking tense. He had filled her in on his plan, but she was still apprehensive. At least she agreed that Jiro needed to be taken down before he could do any more damage.
Pulling his spare knife from his pocket, Izaya inspected the detailing on the blade. Waiting was the hardest part of this plan, so he did his best to distract himself from the anxious feeling in his chest by tracing his fingertips over the different textures on his knife. Although he may never see his original knife again, he could at least rest knowing it went to good use being stabbed into Jiro's side. Shizuo had done him a huge favor by weakening Jiro.
His grip on the knife tightened. All of that rage he'd felt back in the warehouse began to build up again. It was going to take a lot of self control on his part not to slit Jiro's throat the moment he saw his face again.
When he finally heard movement on the floor below, Izaya folded his knife and placed it back in his pocket. With a final, slow breath, Izaya calmed himself the best he could.
Yuito and Minato dragged the limp form of Jiro until he was about four meters away from where Izaya sat. He was positioned between them, on his knees with his legs and hands tied behind him, his subordinates holding him up by his uppder arms. He slowly lifted his head, a task that Izaya knew from experience was difficult under the influence of the drug he'd been dosed with. The hint of anger behind the dark glare in his eyes brought a smirk to Izaya's face.
"Doesn't feel nice, does it?" Izaya teased.
"What did you do to my men?" Jiro asked, ignoring Izaya's comment, "What's with their eyes?"
Izaya's smirk widened. "It's probably better if you don't know. Might be too much for you to handle."
"Stop messing around," Jiro said firmly, though with a hint of apprehension present in his voice which he was clearly trying to hide. Izaya latched onto that, deciding to push it as far as he could.
"If you really want to know…" he began with a shrug, "Some people say it's like hypnosis, but that's sugar-coating it. From a psychological standpoint, hypnosis only works on the willing and it doesn't control people like what's shown in media. I'd say what's happening here closer to possession. And your loyal pals have orders to do whatever I say."
"Bullshit," Jiro growled, though the way his shoulders tensed revealed that he didn't completely disregard Izaya's explanation, "What game are you playing?"
"I assure you this isn't a game," Izaya grinned, "Do you want a demonstration? Yuito-san, give that fresh wound of his a nice kick."
Yuito followed instructions causing Jiro to let out a sharp hiss and wince at the pain. Excitement shot through Izaya like electricity in response. He found himself more satisfied than he thought he'd be at the pained expression on Jiro's face, though he could tell Jiro was holding back showing too much pain. He'd have to do something about that.
"H-how are you doing this?" Jiro questioned, seeming more than a little unsettled at the betrayal of his accomplices.
"I thought I explained it well enough," Izaya replied, "It's simple. They got involved with the wrong person and got themselves possessed by a demon."
"I don't believe you."
"I assure you it's the truth. The supernatural actually isn't too difficult to find if you know where to look. It's often hidden in plain sight. Take for instance the person behind me." Izaya jumped down from the crate he sat on to run behind Celty, pushing her forward into view and abruptly pulling her helmet off.
Jiro's eyes widened in shock as black wisps of smoke shifted in the space where the woman's head should be. A gasp escaped his lips and Izaya could see him tense in a futile attempt to get his body to move. That electric excitement from before grew in his chest at Jiro's frightened response.
Now we're getting somewhere, he thought.
"This one right here is not human," Izaya said, passing his hand through the empty space where Celty's head should be, "And I'm sorry to say, Jiro, your attempt to kill Shizu-chan pissed off more than just myself. She's a good friend of his, and isn't very pleased with you right now."
Izaya's grin darkened as Celty decided to accept the flaunting of her existence, drawing out her pitch black scythe out of the dark smoke surrounding her in an intimidating display of her powers.
Jiro once again futilely attempted to back away, eyes wide with fear as the blade of Celty's scythe pointed directly at Jiro's heart. Everyone was still for a moment as Jiro's breath quickened. Izaya allowed the threat to hang in the air for a moment.
"H-how are you d-doing this?" Jiro asked, Izaya didn't miss the way he stuttered.
"I told you, she isn't human. She's a real monster living amongst humans. And although it seems to have materialized out of nowhere, that scythe is also very real."
Jiro struggled against the ropes tying his arms together, adrenaline giving him a bit of leverage against the drug. Izaya knew from experience that meant he must be frightened, which he was happy to know, but he also didn't want to let that give Jiro the ability to fight the drug any more than he has so far. Besides, he was eager to continue.
"I think that's enough for now, Celty," Izaya said, resting his hand on her shoulder. "I would like some time alone with him now, if you'd allow it?"
Celty was still for a moment as she seemed to consider his request. Her PDA popped out from her sleeve in the same instant her scythe dematerialized. Jiro exhaled a shaky breath and slumped a bit as the blade disappeared.
She held the message out to the side so only Izaya could read it. "[I understand your anger especially given your past with this guy. I'll give you a few minutes, but please don't take this too far. He's a terrible person, but just say what you need to say and stick to the plan.]"
Izaya's grip on her shoulder tightened slightly as he gave a light nod in acknowledgment of her statement, his gaze now locked on Jiro as his rage began to show through the grin on his face. Jiro's eyes glanced between the two as he was left in the dark as to what Celty was saying. Izaya imagined that must be intimidating after that display, but it was almost humorous when contrasted with Celty's kind words.
"[I'll be waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Please be careful and call me if you need help.]"
As Celty's form disappeared down the stairs Izaya reached into his pocket, pulling out his spare knife again.
"Now then," he said, flicking the blade out as he stepped close and kneeled to Jiro's level. "Tell me, master, are you scared?"