Nothing belongs to me except for Ryuu Akihana, Kanta Akihana, Ichirou Arata and the story itself. All rights go to Ryohgo Narita! Enjoy!
Izaya flinched when a door slamming shut resonated throughout the large office. Izaya turned from the window he had been looking out of; having been observing the quiet streets below. The blonde man with a lingering scowl rested his black trench coat on the coat rack by his door and made his way to the desk of leftover paperwork. He grabbed and lit a cigarette from the carton he had left on the large piece of furniture and turned towards the computer, inputting a password and going through documents Izaya didn't have the nerve to scrutinize from behind the man no matter how curious he was.
A long silence stretched out between them with Shizuo working through the paperwork on the desk while Izaya tried to focus on the view out of the window.
"Hey, kid?"
Izaya jumped and turned his head towards the gruff voice, a set of brown eyes staring into his russet ones, the yakuza taking out his cancer stick to blow out a puff of smoke. To Izaya, it smelled vaguely of mint, although a sweeter scent caught his attention. He just couldn't pinpoint as to what it was.
"Go take a bath. You stink. I can't work with your stench clouding my office."
Izaya stared in shock as the man returned the cigarette to his lips and turned back to his work as though a word hadn't been said. The teen remembered having showered that morning, so he couldn't understand why the intimidating man would claim he smelled bad. Then again, Izaya had been abducted, rendered unconscious for a time, interrogated and forced to remain in a stuffy office for an hour with no clue of what he could or couldn't do.
With that thought in mind, Izaya turned towards the bedroom that was attached to the office. He stopped at the doorway, knowing he should bathe, but unsure if it was okay for him to use the yakuza's ensuite bathroom or go find a communal one within the building if it existed. With a dry tongue and cracked lips, Izaya turned back towards Shizuo, who was partially hidden by the large stack of papers.
"U-Um, excuse me?"
Shizuo poked his head up from the papers with an annoyed look, making Izaya tense, concerned at having made the man angry.
"T-The bathroom… I c-can use it, r-right?"
The yakuza growled before rising from his desk and making his way towards Izaya. Izaya flailed and tried to apologize for having bothered the man, but stumbled over his words from the onslaught of fear that gripped his body. Shizuo ignored the flustered teen's attempt at an apology as he grabbed Izaya's arm and pulled him through the bedroom towards the full bathroom.
Izaya barely got the chance to observe the bedroom before he was thrust into the a tiled room with a toilet, a sink with a mirror hanging above it and a frosted glass door separating him from the bathing area. As the teen worked to recover from being handled so roughly by the blonde, he heard the slam of the wooden door behind him.
Izaya turned to find the door that connected him the bedroom shut behind him as footsteps resonated from the other side. The teen shuddered as he rubbed the spot on his arm that had been gripped so tightly. Izaya was sure that it would have been ripped off if the man pulled any harder. No doubt a bruise in the shape of a hand print would appear on his skin. Not much later the door opened again to reveal the yakuza holding a set of clothes.
"Wear these when you're done. Leave your uniform in the basket over there."
Izaya looked by the shower entrance where Shizuo nodded his head to find plastic, white basket for laundry.
"Towels are on the rack above it. You can use whatever is on the wash table. Be quick."
After having set the pile of clothes on top of the washer by the door leading back to the bedroom, the older man left the room and closed the door behind him. Izaya could hear the sound of his footsteps fading as the blond walked away.
With a shaky sigh to calm his nerves, Izaya stripped off his school uniform and neatly folded it before setting them in the basket like he was told. He would have gladly washed his clothes of the day's events, but didn't want to push his luck and risk the man's irritation.
After entering the bathing area and closing the glass door behind him, Izaya saw the separated room was of decent size and used expensive materials. The almost sparkling, silver tiles showed no signs of grime and the tub was of pure white porcelain, showing that it had been cleaned recently. The chrome shower head was glistening from above the low metal table that held high grade, vanilla scented shampoo, conditioner, body wash and other hygienic toiletries with a white, plastic bucket acting as a stool.
Izaya observed the sweet smelling bottles chuckled to himself.
Not what I would expect of a scary looking yakuza to bath in. Then again, you can't hide your career choice with dirt smudges and bad body odor.
Izaya shrugged off the thought as he made to fill the tub and wash his body at the shower area while he waited for the water to heat up, more than happy to let his body succumb to the simple pleasure while he scrubbed off any sort of remembrance of the day.
Meanwhile, out in the office, Shizuo finished his cigarette and put it out in the glass ashtray to the left of his keyboard. He grunted as he stretched his arms high, his back faintly cracking before he turned his swivel chair towards the large wall to wall window that overlooked the city.
How annoying. First, Yamada tries to steal from me, killing any of my subordinates that either found out or were sent after him, and now I have a punk brat to babysit until he's slips up. I don't know how he managed to get out of interrogation without a scratch on him, but he must be one crafty bastard.
It's also annoying how he's trying to play the whole scared, innocent school boy routine. Does he really think I'm an idiot? As if I'd buy that crap! I give him a week before he's lying in some alley with a collapsed lunged and a black eye.
Shizuo clicked his tongue as he pulled another cigarette from it's box and flicked the lighter on at the end, breathing in the calming fumes through it's filter, and then slowly exhaling it out.
I should have a chat with him once he's done rehearsing his character in the mirror. I've gotta get a feel for this kid if I want this over with quickly. The faster I can prove this kid was working for Yamada, the faster I can get him out of my hair.
Satisfied with the plan he decided for himself and his charge, Shizuo turned back to the computer to try and make a dent in the paperwork on his desk while he answered emails from the higher-ups.
Roughly twenty minutes later, Izaya rose from his bath and exited the room feeling refreshed. Grabbing a towel off the rack above the laundry basket, the teen proceeded to dry himself off before dressing in the white, short-sleeve t-shirt and grey sweatpants left for him. Discarding his wet towel in the basket with his uniform, Izaya then grabbed a smaller towel from the rack and used it to dry off his hair. Once he was confident he wouldn't catch a cold, Izaya rested the towel around his neck before exiting the bathroom back into the bedroom. Without a rough hold to rush him anywhere, Izaya was able to observe the surroundings much easier than when he being handled like a rag doll.
The floorboards were the same as that of the office with the walls a soothing, creamy color and a white trim that went along the floor and ceiling. A dresser with a large, forty inch TV set on top had clothes that lay hung out of open drawers, strewn about the floor, atop the unkempt bed and trailed through the open wooden doors of a small walk-in closet. Izaya remembered the woman who had previously occupied the messy bed and blushed up to his ears, quickly turning away and making way back towards the office.
The teen entered back into the office, finding Shizuo on the couch reading through documents whilst smoking a cigarette. Shizuo glanced up at the raven and motioned him to sit in the couch across from him while tapping his cigarette against the ashtray placed beside the stack of papers on the coffee table.
Izaya cautiously made his way over and sat across from the man, distracting himself by pulling at the fibers of the small, fluffy bath towel. Silence ensued between the two men for a long period of time as Shizuo focused on his work and Izaya looked anywhere but at the man across from him. The tick tock of a wall clock, the shuffling of paper and the tap of a cigarette against a jade ashtray were the only sounds to permeate the silence.
"Hey, Kid?"
Izaya jumped slightly at the yakuza's deep voice calling out to him and could only wring his hands together as his eyes kept to the floorboards. The teen knew it was impolite, and that he risked angering the man before him, but he just couldn't even bring himself to hum a response or give a stiff nod to show the man he was listening.
"What the hell? Don't ignore me! I'm talkin' to you!"
The teen's lips pressed tightly together, holding back a whimper of fear when Shizuo's voice rose an octave. It was clear to Izaya now that his silence was not what Shizuo wanted to hear. Izaya couldn't speak if he wanted to though since he was sure his voice would crack or break if he were to even make a noise of acknowledgment. He heard the older man scoff as he tapped his cigarette on the ashtray.
"Fuckin' brat…thinking so highly of yourself…have some respect for adults…"
Izaya gulped at the angry mumbling, wanting to defend himself against what he was able to make out, but unable to voice a complaint out of fear. The situation returned to as it was before with the only difference being the yakuza's angry mumbling thickening the tension with every minute.
A knock at the door brought both men to look up as a familiar figure walked through the door. Arata closed the door behind him and bowed to Shizuo while giving Izaya a wink before righting himself, making the raven nod in response.
"Boss, Tom-san asked me to deliver the report on that underground auction ring in the South Ikebukuro area."
Shizuo nodded and gave a grunt for the teen to continue. With a nod, Arata went ahead with his report on what was found out while Izaya listened silently.
"We were able to flush them out and clean out their stock and profits, but the suspected leader, as well as a few of his followers, were not found. One of our guys say they saw a dark van driving away, but was unable to identify a license plate or determine where it was headed; only that it turned towards the highway."
Shizuo put out his cigarette in the ashtray and continued to look through his papers as he answered Arata uncaringly.
"Have that guy interrogated by Tom-san for a bit. If nothing comes of it, send in those two. You're dismissed."
Arata looked troubled as he hesitated to leave the office, glancing between Izaya and Shizuo nervously.
"But, Boss, is it really okay to head straight into interrogation. He told us plenty already, didn't he? He might really have missed the license plate.
"Dismissed."
The teen flinched at the glare sent to him and hung his head as he bowed and made to leave the office, turning the handle of the door.
"W-What about the t-traffic cameras?"
Both men turned to the youngest in the room, surprise evident on both their faces at hearing his voice. Shizuo was the first to answer the Izaya.
"Do you think I haven't thought of that? We don't have an informant with the hacking skills necessary to access the traffic cameras, and we don't have the funds to bribe an official to provide them to us."
Izaya looked up from the floorboards and gulped at what he was about to say next.
"W-What if I said…I could?"
Arata's eyes widened before he chuckled, drawing the younger teen's attention.
"Don't promise what you can't deliver, Cutie. That's a sure-fire way of getting yourself killed around here."
"Let him do it."
Both men turned to face Shizuo, who held a steady gave with Izaya. The teen blushed out of embarrassment at how serious the yakuza looked at him.
"Can you do it?"
Izaya nodded.
"And are you aware that if you fail, I get to decide your punishment for being unable to keep a promise to the yakuza?"
Izaya gulped, but otherwise nodded towards Shizuo. Shizuo nodded back and leaned back on the couch with a knowing smirk.
"Well then, let's see what you got, Kid?"
"Ah, but-!"
"Now what?"
Izaya flinched at the growl delivered to him, but he couldn't back down; not now.
"I'll n-need to make a c-call. A f-friend of mine—a trusted friend! I can't do it alone."
Shizuo stared suspiciously at the boy, making both Izaya and Arata break out in a cold sweat at the tension in the room. However, eventually the yakuza nodded towards Arata.
"Give him your phone. I want this done quickly, so whatever else he needs, he gets."
Arata, although flustered at the blonde's behavior, managed to nod and dig in his pockets for his phone. and walked over to hand it to Izaya.
"Are you sure about this? The yakuza are no joke. When he says he'll punish you, it's not a bluff."
Izaya smiled nervously.
"I can handle this much. I know my limits."
Arata didn't look convinced, but otherwise nodded and backed away as Izaya dialed a familiar number into the phone before putting it to his ear. The ringing only lasted a few seconds before a concerted voice met came through the speaker.
"Who is this? Izaya? Please tell me this is you!"
"I-It's me."
A relieved sigh could be heard before the questions came in with frantic worry.
"Oh thank goodness! Are you hurt? Hungry? Some guy in a suit told us you were being held and I just…I knew I should have gone with you. This is my fault. If I had been there…"
It warmed Izaya's heart that his friend was so concerned, but needed to calm her down before he asked her for what he needed.
"I'm fine, Ryuu-chan. I lost my glasses, but otherwise, nothing hurts. I-It's a little scary, but nothing I can't handle so far."
"That's a relief to hear. I'll see about getting you your replacement glasses though. Do you need me to send anything else? Are they letting you go to school? What do you want me to tell the twins?"
Izaya gulped at the thought of telling his sisters anything that would cause them to worry, but pressed on. Shizuo was looking as though he was growing impatient, so he knew he had speed this up.
"We'll discuss everything later, Ryuu-chan. Right now, I need your help."
"Anything! You name it!"
"Could you possibly bring me my spare glasses and my laptop? I'll need my cell phone too. You can do that, right?"
"Yeah? Izaya, what are you planning to do? What's going on over there?"
Izaya could hear the nervous suspicion in the girl's voice, but pressed on.
"Have Kanta-nii-chan drive you here with all that and I'll explain when you get here."
Silence came from the phone, making Izaya check to see if he was still connected. He was.
"Ryuu-chan?"
"Kanta-nii-chan says we'll be over as soon as we're able. Just give us an address."
Izaya looked towards Shizuo, who raised and eyebrow at the odd glance.
"I-In order for them to bring my stuff, they n-need to know where we are. Address?"
"Tell your friend it's the old art gallery in West Ikebukuro. The one belonging to the Awakusu."
Izaya nodded and relayed the information to Ryuu, who assured him that she and Kanta would be there as soon as they could. After the two hung up, Izaya handed the phone back to a still nervous looking Arata.
"An underling?"
Izaya shook his head.
"A friend."
Shizuo narrowed his eyes, but let the conversation drop. He supposed his questions would be answered when the stranger on the phone arrived. If this boy were indeed innocent, it would be strange to see him successfully hack into government cameras without detection. Shizuo's suspicion regarding the teen only kept growing, but he wouldn't turn down an opportunity to take one more annoyance off the list of things his boss had been hounding him about.
Fifteen minutes passed in silence when a ring of the phone on Shizuo's desk sounded out, the yakuza rising to answer and being met with Tom's hushed voice.
"I got two some guy and a high school girl asking for the kid, Shizuo. They said they were invited?"
"Let them in. I'll send Arata for them."
With a snap of his fingers, Arata quickly bowed and exited the office. Ignoring Tom's protests, Shizuo hung up the phone and turned to Izaya.
"If this is all a ruse to stir up trouble so you can escape, I won't let you off so easy."
The teen nodded, his hands wringing together nervously.
Afterstory Monologue:
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