Nearly didn't make this update! Sorry I missed last Sunday, it was finals week at my school~

This chapter is a little different since the first part of it takes place in the past. There will be a few more chapters like this one in the future, and I'll let you know which ones with a little author's note at the top~

~FR242

[Acquaintance]

Chapter 5: Lion and Cobra

Shizuo laid his head down on his desk, not bothering to listen to the teacher's lecture. Even if he paid attention, he probably wouldn't understand what his teacher was talking about anyway. Shinra would probably explain it to him later. Shizuo always understood his friend's explanations better.

Shizuo transferred his gaze outside when some movement flickered in the corner of his eyes. He wasn't surprised when he saw someone very familiar walking across the railing on the roof.

As he stared, the other person looked his way and smirked, offering a cheeky wave. Shizuo glared back, trying to tell the other to get down from there before he fell and broke his neck or something.

As expected, Izaya didn't obey, even going so far as to take a few more steps. His smirk grew wider when he noticed that he had Shizuo's undivided attention.

Suddenly, Izaya's foot slipped, and Shizuo's heart lurched. The stupid flea was about to fall off the railing.

"Izaya!" Shizuo shot up from his seat and pressed his hands to the window, startling the rest of the class. He watched with wide eyes as the black-haired teen teetered on the edge of the railing, arms waving through the air as he struggled to regain his balance.

Then, Izaya easily swung himself back, landing safely on the roof of the school. From where Shizuo stood, he could clearly see the flea laughing. The blond-haired man realized that he had been tricked.

A snarl rumbled in Shizuo's chest as he glared at the snickering Izaya. That was not funny. How dare the flea tease him like that!

"Shizuo? Is something wrong?" Shinra's inquiry brought Shizuo back to the classroom, and the blond noticed that everyone was watching him, apprehension and curiosity in their eyes. Shizuo grunted and sat back down.

"I'm fine." He turned his head away from Izaya, who would undoubtedly tease the Heiwajima if Shizuo looked at him right now.

No one questioned Shizuo's outburst, fearing that the short-tempered man would try to throw someone out the window. For the rest of the class, Shizuo brooded in silence, waiting for the bell to ring so he could go and beat up Izaya for scaring him like that.

When school finally ended, Shinra took Shizuo's things, knowing that the man wanted to go hunt down Izaya and offering to drop Shizuo's bag off at his house. Shizuo muttered his thanks and left.

He wasn't surprised when he ran into the flea almost immediately. Izaya had been leaning against the wall near the main entrance of the school as though he had been waiting for Shizuo to come find him. As soon as he saw the blond, Izaya's always-present smirk widened and he approached the furious Shizuo.

"Ne, Shizu-chan, what happened back there?" Izaya watched Shizuo's eyes narrow with satisfaction. "You looked really worried for some reason. Care to explain?"

"Flea." Shizuo's voice was a low growl. "Why did you pull that stunt?"

Izaya faked ignorance. "I'm afraid I don't know what Shizu-chan means."

"Don't play innocent with me! You acted as though you were going to fall to your death."

Izaya gave him a sly look from underneath dark lashes. "Shizu-chan, were you worried about me?"

Shizuo replied by attempting to punch Izaya. The smaller man dodged to the side and dashed out of the school, Shizuo hot on his heels.

People screamed and scrambled out of the way as the two of them dashed through the streets of Ikebukuro. Izaya wreaved through the streets expertly, having memorized the location of almost all of the obstacles and deftly avoiding them. Shizuo followed close behind, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Stop running so I can kill you, stupid flea!"

"Why would I stop if you're going to kill me, Shizu-chan!" Izaya laughed as he vaulted over a bench.

Shizuo reached the bench and tore it up from the ground with minimal effort. With a roar, he lifted it above his head and hurled it at Izaya with all his might. The raven-haired man ducked to the side, and the bench sailed over his head and landed on the ground with a crash.

"Shizu-chan, you're destroying public property again~!" Izaya spoke in a singsong voice just to annoy Shizuo. Like all the times in the past, it worked.

"I–za–ya–kun!" Shizuo picked up a potted plant as easily as though it was a toothpick and threw it. Izaya dodged and the pot smashed against the stone road.

Izaya started running again, ducking into a series of alleyways. Shizuo tried to follow, but he quickly lost sight of Izaya. The man with monstrous strength growled in frustration as he wandered the maze a little longer. When his search proved fruitless, Shizuo was forced to turn back, shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared and a weight dropped down on him, making him stumble slightly. A pair of arms wrapped themselves around Shizuo's shoulders so that Shizuo was practically carrying the person.

Izaya placed his chin on Shizuo's shoulder, tilting his head so that he could see the blond's face. "Sorry, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo glanced at the smaller man form the corners of his eyes and sighed resignedly. "Stupid flea."

Izaya laughed and slid down from his place on Shizuo's back. "Shizu-chan always uses the same insults."

"Shut up." Shizuo walked out of the alley with Izaya skipping next to him.

"Ne, Shizu-chan. You really should go up onto the roof with me. We could hang out there for the entire day!" Izaya grinned, hope shining in his eyes.

Shizuo hummed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Maybe."

Izaya sighed as he balanced his way across a bicycle rack. "You always say that."

Seeing a disappointed Izaya made Shizuo's heart twist a little with guilt. Hesitantly, Shizuo reached out and tugged on Izaya's sleeve. "Hey, do you want to get some ootoro?"

Izaya brightened immediately. "Yes!" He leapt down from the bike rack and took off down the street towards Russian Sushi. "Race you there, Shizu-chan!"

"You're on, flea." Shizuo chased after the other, but Izaya was faster so Shizuo always stayed a pace or two behind.

At the last moment, Shizuo gave a burst of speed and managed to catch up to Izaya, so the two skidded into Russian Sushi neck-to-neck, laughing.

~Acquaintance~

Shizuo and his employer, Tanaka Tom, walked past Russian Sushi. Simon Brezhnev waved at them from the entrance, a stack of coupons in his hands. "Shizuo! Tom-san!"

"Hello, Simon." Tom stopped next to the dark-skinned Russian and smiled. Shizuo halted too, taking another puff from the cigarette between his lips.

Simon brandished a couple coupons in front of the duo. "Eat sushi! Sushi good! No human meat."

Out of politeness, Tom accepted the coupons. He handed one to Shizuo, who stuffed it into his pocket and carried on smoking. The two sides waved goodbye, and Shizuo and Tom carried on with their job, which was going around collecting debts from people. Well, Tom did the collecting. Shizuo was supposed to protect Tom from any clients that happened to get violent. He was a bodyguard.

So far, no client had been complacent. They all insisted on being difficult, begging for more time or trying to attack Tom so they could escape their debt. Unfortunately for the clients, Shizuo wasn't a patient man, so more often than not, the clients were sent flying through the air.

This client would be no different. When Tom and Shizuo arrived at the client's home, there was no one in the house, and it looked like no one had been home for a while. If it wasn't for Shizuo spotting the client slinking away through the back door, Tom might have decided that the client had successfully escaped and stopped pursuing the debt.

Now, Shizuo was chasing the client through the streets of Ikebukuro with Tom following close behind. The bodyguard let out a roar of rage as the client skidded around a corner. "Come back here and pay the stupid debt!"

Shizuo turned the corner and nearly tripped over the client, who was sitting on the ground with a look of fear on his face. The former-bartender's rage simmered down just enough to make him wonder why the guy wasn't running anymore.

Looking up, Shizuo saw that they were in front of a CD store. Standing in front of the display window was a young woman who looked about twenty years old. She had red hair; her bangs reached her chin and were parted to the right. The rest of her hair was tied in a loose ponytail and was draped over her left shoulder. Her green eyes were half-lidded as she gazed at the CDs behind the display glass.

Her clothes were rather strange for someone in Ikebukuro. She wore dark pants with the ends tucked into knee-high black boots. A black, unbuttoned trench coat was draped over a red V-neck vest. A white dress shirt peeked out from underneath the vest, and a black tie hung from the collar.

There wasn't really anything scary about the woman, yet the man Shizuo had been pursuing was shaking and stuttering, "Y-You-You…!"

The woman turned and pinned the man with a sharp gaze, looking at him in confusion and annoyance. "Do I know you?"

Her no-nonsense tone seemed to revive the man's ability to speak. "I-I'm sorry!" He screamed in panic. "I really didn't mean to get in his way!"

"What's wrong with him?" Tom whispered as he and Shizuo watched the scene unfold. Shizuo shrugged, adjusting his blue sunglasses.

The woman's expression changed to one of indifference. "Look, I would appreciate it if you would stop wasting my time babbling things I don't understand. Are you okay?" From her tone, Shizuo doubted that she even cared.

She took a step forward and the man immediately shot up from his sitting position and tried to make a run for it. He didn't make it very far when Shizuo snatched him up by the back of his shirt. The poor man's limbs flailed wildly in midair.

"Where do you think you're going, huh?" Shizuo glared at the man threateningly. "Pay up your debt."

Tom calmly stood back from the blond, seeing as Shizuo was liable to explode at any second. The rest of the crowd followed the debt collector's example, clearing a large space around the tall man in the bartender suit. The only person who didn't move was the red-haired woman, who stood her ground and watched Shizuo curiously.

Meanwhile, the client begged for his freedom. "P-Please, I'll pay you back. Just keep her away from me!"

Shizuo gnashed his teeth together. "What kind of man are you? Stop shaking like a weakling and stand properly!" His anger reaching its peak, Shizuo drew his arm back and threw the man far, far away. It wasn't until the man's screaming had completely faded before Shizuo pulled out another cigarette and lit it up.

"Well, there goes my chance of finding out what he was talking about."

Shizuo turned to see the redhead peering through the sky in the direction that the man disappeared in. The bodyguard was surprised to see that she hadn't fled from him like almost everyone else. There wasn't a trace of fear on her face, only boredom.

"With strength like that, you must be Heiwajima Shizuo." She turned her bold gaze to him, looking at him directly in the eyes.

"Do you have an issue with that?" Shizuo asked a little belligerently, uncomfortable with being scrutinized so meticulously.

"Nope." She turned away, going back to looking at the CDs behind the display glass. Tom approached her cautiously.

"What was that guy shouting about?"

The woman shrugged. "No idea. Never seen him before." She glanced at Tom. "I'm guessing that he tried to get out of paying a debt."

Tom nodded, and she scoffed derisively. "He deserved being thrown through the air then." The woman raised a gloved hand and ran her fingers through her bangs. "Stupid coward."

Tom laughed nervously. The woman's slightly-crass manner of speaking clearly unsettled him somewhat. "Yeah, people are like that in Ikebukuro. Do you live here?"

"No, but I like coming here for fun." The woman turned away from the CDs and faced the two men. "Interesting things happen." She looked at the sky, which was turning pink from the setting sun. "I should be going now. I prefer to stay away from the gang members who come out at night."

"Would you like an escort?" Tom looked at Shizuo, who merely took another puff from his cigarette. "Shizuo and I don't have any more debts to collect today."

"Thanks, but there's no need." The woman waved a hand. "I can make it home myself." She started walking off in the direction of Shinjuku, bidding Tom and Shizuo farewell. Shizuo inhaled another breath from his cigarette and called out to the retreating redhead.

"Hey."

She halted and half-turned, fixing the blond man with an inquiring look.

"What's your name?"

The woman paused for a moment, looking as though she was contemplating her answer. After several seconds of silence, she answered his question. "Shiori." With that, Shiori gave them a final nod and disappeared into the crowd of people walking through the streets of Ikebukuro.

Shizuo was glad that Shiori wasn't afraid of him. So many people were too consumed by fear to even try to speak to him, and Shizuo grew up expecting people to flee at the sight of him. However, Shiori communicated with him without restraint, and Shizuo must admit: it was rather refreshing.

"Shiori" speaks differently from a typical Japanese female. Instead of 'watashi,' she uses 'boku,' which is usually reserved for teenage boys. You could say that she talks like a man.