A/N: Guys, thank you for all your support! Here is the update that you wanted! Yay!

Also, I added in some information that is solely for the purpose of the story. I do not own the characters of Durarara!, or the story plot of it.


Chapter 2 – Heiwajima Shizuo

If there were a phrase that could describe Shizuo's feelings at that exact moment, it would've been something that was within the boundary of uneasiness and abhorrence. Especially when Orihara Izaya snapped at Kishitani Shinra out of all people, (Shinra was about the closest person that could ever be labeled as Izaya's best friend) Shizuo knew there was something going on.

Everyone in the hallway, for the next few days, whispered at Izaya and the bruise around his neck. Rumors went around with several gossip materials – maybe that the raven could secretly be associated with a gang, or was doing some uncanny business at night… It was exactly what Heiwajima Shizuo wanted, Izaya being badmouthed by others and broken by the humans he loved so much – but not exactly in this form of action.

But Izaya's neck soon found its original color, and the rumors gradually lessened after that as well. The black-haired male didn't seem to care in the slightest – in fact, if Shizuo had to say, the gleeful expression on Izaya's face made him want to rip it right off. The blonde didn't know which he hated to see more: Orihara Izaya's smug, delightful expression filled with playfulness and joy, or the boy's cautious and fearful face, with shaky hands and blank eyes, just what he looked like the other day.

"AAAAAAGGGGGHHH!" Shizuo flipped his desk in the middle of class, overwhelmed with thought and confusion. The desk landed on Orihara Izaya's head, who just happened to be sitting in front of him after the seating chart was newly made.

"Shizu-chan… the term 'flips table' isn't meant to be taken literally."

"Well, too bad." Shizuo growled, as the whole class kind of just stared and backed away from the commotion. "I am gonna do what I want, because you fucking irritate me right now."

"Heiwajima-kun." The teacher cleared his throat. "Violence isn't going to be tolerated in the classroom."

Shizuo stopped at that, a scowl still present on his face. Izaya smirked, and shifted back to his original position. That damned flea... Shizuo chewed on his pencil. I fucking hate him.

That exactly same day, Shinra had approached Shizuo. "Shizuo, I have a favor for you, and it may seem trivial to you, but it's really important to me. My whole love life depends on this. Do you comprehend my words -"

"Yes, yes. Make it quick."

Shinra was definitely hesitant about bringing up the matter. And when Shinra was hesitant, that usually meant that Shizuo wasn't going to like the favor. But the blonde felt nice that day, so he listened.

"Well..." The young Kishitani began, "Izaya borrowed my book the other day. He apparently couldn't find them in the library, so... And you see, Celty actually wants to read it too. I said I would give it to her tomorrow, but I can't go get it today since I have an experiment to conduct at mt lab today. So I was wondering if you could go get it for me..." Shinra's voice crawled in, as Shizuo's expression just turned for the worse as seconds passed.

Feeling nice? Bull shit.

Shinra clapped his hands together and leaned down, begging. "Please, Shizuo. Do it for Celty's sake, and our love."

As if anyone cares about your love. Shizuo rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It's just bringing a book back to your house, right? I can bear that much."

Shinra's expression brightened up at that. "God, you're a lifesaver, Shizuo! That's right, I will buy you something in exchange tomorrow or whenever. I will tell Izaya about this, okay? Thanks, really."

"No big deal." Shizuo tried to act calm and level-headed till the very end. The shorter boy went off at that, to inform Izaya. The said Orihara seemed a little uncomfortable at first, glancing suspiciously back and forth at Shinra and Shizuo. Izaya said something, as if to retort, but Shinra shook his head and muttered something like "House is closer," or "Too far".

Izaya seemed to be compliant in the very end. He shrugged and then went to sleep on his desk.

Shizuo wasn't looking forward to the end of last period.


"Shizu-chan, I don't bite."

"Maybe. But you stink."

"I shower twice a day, Shizu-chan. My stench can't possibly be worse than yours."

The two were keeping a strict one-meter distance from each other - or rather, Shizuo was.

After a moment of silence, Izaya spoke up. "You know, Shizu-chan, I suggested to Shinra that I could take the book to him myself, but he insisted that I should go with you. Your house was right next to his? I never knew."

Shizuo grunted. "Yeah, yeah."

It was about ten minutes after the short talk, when they had arrived at Izaya's house. Izaya opened the door, unlocking it with reluctance evident on his face, for some unknown reason. When they entered, Shizuo spotted several shoes on the floor - a grown man's, and high heels that seemed like a young woman's.

"I'm back." Izaya muttered under his breath. A man with black, spiky hair wearing a button-down shirt and pants was sitting on the couch, chuckling with a woman that certainly didn't seem like Izaya's mother. The man's face became distorted, and his lips curled into a somewhat familiar position that Shizuo recognized (easily said, a cuss word) - until, he saw Shizuo with the boy.

"A friend?" He grumbled, letting his arm fall on the couch from the woman's slender shoulder.

"Just a classmate." Izaya shrugged, not making eye contact with his father. Shizuo found this whole situation odd, but didn't say anything.

The man clucked his tongue. Shizuo saw Izaya slightly flinch. "Make it quick. We need to talk."

"Yes, father."

Shizuo whipped his head back to see if he had heard Izaya right. He never expected Izaya to be so... utterly formal with his dad. But at the same time, Shizuo assumed it was kind if like how Kasuka, his little brother, acted inside the house compared to when he was on screen. It ain't my business anyway.

The two walked up the stairs. The staircase was narrow, and the torn wallpaper next to them wasn't exactly helping Shizuo's mood. When they were finally upstairs, two girls dashed towards Izaya and crashed into him in an affectionate manner. Shizuo just stood there and blinked.

"Onii-chan," Kururi mumbled, "hi."

"Iza-nii, daddy -" Mairu stopped as Izaya shook his head and threw a meaningful glare at both girls, as if to tell them a message that Shizuo wasn't supposed to comprehend. "Is he your friend?"

"We're just classmates." Shizuo responded instead. "And I just came here to retrieve a book."

Kururi observed the blonde carefully, and then said nothing.

Izaya searched through the pits of his black hole-like drawers, and then reached his arm towards something that definitely seemed to go deeper than the depth of his drawer (for some mystifying reason). "Here it is." The black head smirked, throwing it at Shizuo who caught it in the air. "I really was going to pretend it was lost since I didn't want Shizu-chan to go, but I decided I'd be generous today."

Shizuo saw Izaya's eyes waver, as if he actually meant it. The monster-like male brushed the thought off his head - there was no way Izaya actually would want him to stay longer. And it wasn't like Shizuo was even going to stay, even if Izaya asked him to. Just about when that was happening, a rather impatient and abrasive knock echoed through the room. "Brat, you done talking? I have an errand I need you to run." The door opened, revealing Izaya's father who had a dissatisfactory scowl on his face. The tense atmosphere made Shizuo's shoulders hunch, as cold sweat formed on Izaya's face.

"We're done." The raven muttered. "What's the errand?"

His father grunted. "Go to my office and pick up some papers. The keys are on the counter. I'm not gonna be home today, so do whatever with Mairu and Kururi." Then slamming the door close, the man exited the scene. Shizuo took that as his cue to leave as well, and went down the stairs with Izaya, who picked up the said keys on the counter.

They parted ways in front of the house, and never said any kind of farewell to one another either.

Shizuo decided to leave it at that.


"Kasuka, at least put the dishes away." Shizuo grumbled, as he stood up from his chair and started washing the dishes in the sink. They were starting to pile up, and somebody had to do the work. His little brother obediently listened to the elder's orders - he never spoke a word against him, anyway. Nobody ever did the housework, due to the fact that their parents were divorced; not because their parents hated one another, or were on disagreeable terms, but because their dad was gay. It sounded like the deal was that they both loved another, enough to make two kids together - but their dad revealed the truth a tad bit too late. His dad always claimed that if he was even bisexual or straight, his most ideal woman would be their mom. But unfortunately for them, his dad wasn't attracted much to females.

"When is dad coming back today?" Kasuka questioned; their dad worked at a gay bar. He was considerably young - only 37 years old. It wasn't exactly the kind where males had to crossdress, since that was optional, but it was only for gays. Of course, his dad had a decent job before that, as an accountant in a small company. But after coming to a conclusion that he was finally gay, his dad went berserk and resigned from his job and took another path. Both Shizuo and Kasuka had no problem with that decision; it was just that their dad was rarely home later during the afternoon.

"I don't know." Shizuo replied. "Nine, or more than that, perhaps."

"Mhm."

The blonde dried off his hands, and walked to the couch and slumped down. That was exactly when his phone started ringing. The caller ID read Kadota Kyohei. The older Heiwajima frowned at that, as he somehow did receive an opportunity to save Kadota's number in the past, but he was not acquainted with him in any particular way. He picked up anyway. "Hello?"

"Hey, Heiwajima. Sorry for calling you this late."

Shizuo glanced at the clock. It was around 8, which was considerably late. "It's fine, uh... Kadota-senpai."

"You can drop the senpai, and just call me Kadota. I know we really don't talk to each other and all, but do you happen to know anything about Orihara Izaya and his father?"

There it was again. Orihara Izaya seemed to be the hottest topic of the month.

"No. Well..." Shizuo thought about his answer for a while. He knew Izaya's father, but he didn't know much about him. At least, not from that very first encounter that wasn't very welcoming. "No."

"Oh. Well, okay then. Thanks for answering the question. See you tomorrow."

Then the call died. Shizuo glared at the speaker, his expression giving off a vibe that seemed to say: "What the hell was that?" But that moment due to the fact that Kadota had brought it up, Shizuo reminded himself of the ambiance of the Orihara household - it was definitely nowhere close to amicable or loving; and Shizuo knew what amicable and loving was supposed to look like (surprisingly). The small dots of red that appeared to be blood on the walls, the dents and cracks that were visible now and then, Kururi and... Mairu? The sisters' expressions when Shizuo came in, and Izaya...

"I really was going to pretend it was lost since I didn't want Shizu-chan to go, but I decided I'd be generous today."

"Generous?" Shizuo gritted his teeth. "Who's being generous, now?"

Kadota's call, Izaya's odd behavior, and finally Izaya's dad. Shizuo knew it wasn't his business. In fact, he didn't want it to be his business. His life was dynamic enough; he didn't need to make it more exciting by adding Izaya's problems on his shoulders.

"Shizuo, I'm back~!" Someone's arms wrapped around his neck, their breath reeking of alcohol and cigar. His dad rubbed his face on the blonde's shoulders, as Shizuo shook him off. "Geez, you and Kasuka are both so cold. Maybe I should've sent one off to Namiko. It's still not too late." The man, Heiwajima Kichirou, was a very handsome, blonde male in his late thirties - but really, he looked like he was still in his twenties.

"Shut your trap, dad." Shizuo glared daggers at him. "Dinner's on the table."

Kichirou hummed a tune while skipping to the table. He certainly was in a good mood. Shizuo assumed there was male customer that he took a liking to, or maybe just that the business was going well... The boy wasn't exactly interested. He stared at his dad devour the food on the table in an unclean manner. Nobody could possibly imagine that his father was gay - he looked like a perfectly straight person, if such a description existed. "By the way, Shizuo?" The man wiped his mouth. "Did you make some friends at school?"

"Dad, I'm not a kid."

"Which probably means you don't have any friends, am I right?"

"I have Shinra!" Shizuo threw his arms into the air. "I have Celty, and uh... I think Karisawa and Walker will count."

"Well, that's an improvement." His dad said with slight sarcasm. "No one you love? I thought you were going pretty well with that girl... Varona, was it? You brought her over with Tanaka once, right?"

The blonde rolled his eyes. "They're just friends. I only consider Varona as my junior - nothing more, nothing less."

"Even Kasuka has a boyfriend. Grow some balls, Shizuo." Kichirou pointed his chopsticks at Shizuo, and the blonde gritted his teeth.

"I don't need a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend, for that matter."

Kichirou blinked at that, and then just resumed to his small eating session. "If you say so."


"Shizuo, did you see Izaya?" Shinra sat down in front Shizuo's desk, which was supposedly Izaya's seat. "He hasn't been around for two days, and that usually never happens." The blonde opened his eyes a little at the mention of the raven's name. Not because he was intrigued by the mysterious absence, but because he felt vexed just by the fact that someone had brought up Izaya Orihara's name on a perfectly nice day.

"If I saw him, I would've punched him in the face." He snuggled into his own arms. The Heiwajima just wanted to sleep, uninterrupted by annoying names, annoying people, and annoying whatevers. Shinra tilted his head to the side, and then sighed. He opened his record book, and proceeded to tapping on the label that read "20XX". He scrolled down a bunch of pages until he found something he was looking for.

"Izaya and I went to the same middle school. Did I tell you about that?" Shinra asked, clicking on a different tab. "I probably did. Izaya was often involved in gang fights then, you know... he acted as an informant, or at least that's what claimed he was. He got clobbered now and then, by this gang... what was it, the Yellow Scarves? The Blue Squares? And that's why he was injured so often, having broken legs and all." The street monster raised an eyebrow at that. The Yellow Scarves and the Blue Squares were all pre-existing gangs, before Shizuo had become a high schooler. They had rumbles in the alleys of Ikebukuro, and were often mentioned on the news and the press.

"And then?"

"Well, so I got worried about his... condition, you know? I mean, sure, I would care less if Izaya got his ass kicked if he deserved it, but nevertheless, I didn't need him to die. He had tons of broken ribs one day, and I really thought he was going to disappear from this world. My dad patched him up, so that was all fine. But I did my own investigation thing, and I eventually found at that Izaya was acting as an informant, but had never been beaten down by any of the gangs."

Shizuo frowned, perplexed. "What?"

"Exactly. That was my reaction. Of course, I left it at that. I didn't want to get all nosy with Izaya's personal life - especially when he stopped working as informant after a while. The injuries continued, but I never said a word about it to Izaya. He didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it." Shinra responded, turning back on the seat.

"So why are you telling me all this?" The blonde inquired, his face resting on his palm.

"No particular reason. I just thought it might be useful for you someday." The young doctor shifted a little on the chair, as Shizuo grunted.

"As if."

The door then dragged open, as small vibrations went through the wooden floor of the room. A few remained focused on what they were doing, while Shinra and Shizuo proceeded to look at who the newcomer was. It was lunch, and it really was odd for anyone to come in at this time.

There they saw Orihara Izaya, his face grim and pale. His cheeks were sunken, and circles were under his eyes. He was limping, and his hand was bandaged in a lazy, unprofessional fashion. His lip was slightly purple, and through the incorrectly buttoned shirt they could see linings of cuts that were yet to be healed and bruises that were forming grotesque shapes all over his body.

He looked dreadful.

"Shinra, get out of my seat." The raven croaked, as the young Kishitani quickly made way for him. Izaya slumped down on the chair, and didn't even bother to make a nasty comment or greeting at Shizuo. Which was extremely rare, since Izaya loved seeing Shizuo infuriated. Shinra and Shizuo exchanged glances, and Celty came over, noticing the condition of Izaya. She held up her PDA, trying to type something, but eventually erased what she typed and just let her arm down.

"Izaya -"

"Shinra." Izaya sighed. "Let's talk later."

"Sure." Shinra shrugged, and then threw a look at Shizuo. "I'll go now. The bell's about to ring."

Shizuo just stared at Izaya's hunched shoulders, not knowing how to feel about it.

If this swirling emotion in his stomach was worry, then Shizuo had to absolutely murder himself. He wasn't supposed to be concerned about the flea.

Yet, Shizuo clenched and unclenched his fists, biting his lower lip.

Orihara Izaya was his living nightmare.