Shizuo awoke to hear a voice from his room. The sound, while muted, still traveled well through the thin walls. "Would you calm down for five seconds and listen to me?... Look, I'm fine, I still have enough money to keep me going for a while, I think I have a safe place to stay until I get back on my feet, and I have a job interview tomorrow! What more do you want from me?... Well, there's nothing I can do to change that now." Shizuo rolled onto his back and lounged across the couch, slowly waking up. He wondered idly who she was arguing with as he checked the time. 9AM. He heard something more about knowing "two rules", and to "not interfere". He wouldn't be meeting Tom-san today until noon. A rather exasperated sigh and a click caught his attention as Anni emerged from his room, looking even more tired than when he'd banished her to sleep last night. "Oh, you're awake. Good morning" she said, doing her best to feign a smile.
"Ya. Who were you arguing with?" he wondered, sitting up and scratching his head. It was still very strange to have someone else in his house. There was something different about her that he couldn't put his finger on, but she didn't irritate him as easily as most.
"That was my big brother, Alex. I called him to let him know what happened, and he's none too happy about it" she explained, plopping down next to her new roommate.
"Is he worried or something?"
"Yes, he is. I love him dearly, but he can be over-protective at times. I wouldn't be surprised if he flew out here from the States to check on me" she said with a small smile.
"Anyway, you can stay here for a while if you need to. Just try to be quiet and don't mess with my stuff" Shizuo said, standing.
"Thank you, Shizuo-san" Anni said softly, leaning back into the couch and closing her eyes. Shizuo, meanwhile, made his way around the coffee table and into his room. He emerged only for a moment, with a change of clothes and a towel in hand, before disappearing into the bathroom.
By the time he emerged again, his hair dripping onto the towel around his neck, Anni was scribbling at a loose paper on the coffee table. "What's that?"
Anni didn't bother looking up from her haphazard list of numbers. "A budget. Sadly, when my apartment was redecorated, they also found all the money I'd saved to get me through the next few months. I REALLY hope I get the job at that manga shop tomorrow." She sighed putting down her pencil. "At this rate, I won't have enough to pay off the damages to my apartment and get some suitable clothes for my interview, much less buy food."
"Don't worry too much about food. I'm not about to let you starve or anything" Shizuo said casually, heading towards the kitchen.
"I'm gonna have to pay you back for all this somehow" Anni announced, crumpling up the paper and tossing it at the trash can, barely missing.
"No" was the concise response.
"What?" she asked, only just getting to her feet.
"I said no. I don't want your money" he explained, getting a few things together for a simple breakfast.
"I didn't say anything about money" she retorted, forcing the wad of paper to accept its fate in the trash can
Shizuo sighed harshly, almost growling. "I'm helping you because I thinks that's what's right, not because I want any sort of reward"
Anni crossed her arms and leaned her hip against the kitchen counter, carefully watching him. "I want to repay you for your kindness because I couldn't live with myself otherwise, not because I want any sort of gratitude" she explained softly. The wooden spoon in Shizuo's hand splintered under his grip. He could only glare at it morosely before adding it to the quickly filling trash can and reaching for another.
"Fine. But I won't take your money" he agreed, making Anni smile.
"Good! I already have an idea, but it'll take me some time to work on. Is that alright?"
"Sure" Happy with her victory, Anni retreated to the couch.
-!DRRR!-
After receiving a spare key from Shizuo, Anni set about her task; cleaning up the damages. This involved forgoing her pride in a pity story to the landlord about the night before, and omitting a few details about still staying in the same complex. She managed this way to get out of paying the brunt of the damages, but there was no way she was getting her security deposit back. She also wouldn't be allowed to continue renting out that room, and was required to haul out most of her damaged junk, but she didn't mind that as much. Thanks to the way the brace on her wrist had been designed, she still got full use of her right arm for moving everything.
It was well into the afternoon by the time she was done, but the light had yet to fade, so she headed out to search for a store that sold anything cheap that looked good enough to wear to a job interview. Thankfully, luck was on her side, and it didn't take long. The sun was setting on her when she left the store, her bag of new clothes hanging off her wrist, and her search had left her a little lost. That was when luck left her side. She had only taken a few steps before she saw Izaya, and by then it was too late. He had his eyes on her, and was grinning in a way that made her skin crawl. She couldn't move. She was paralyzed by something between hatred and terror. So he got to slowly approach, meandering up to her without a care in the world. The only thing she could do was grip the knife in her pocket as he skipped into earshot. "Anni-chan! It's good to see you again. What happened to your poor little arm?" Izaya asked, at least feigning surprise at her injury.
"I don't wanna fucking deal with you right now" Anni growled back, not bothering with Japanese.
"Such harsh language, Anni-chan! Is that any way to speak to your friends?" Izaya countered, taking up English in turn. Anni scoffed.
"I don't care what name or voice you use, I would never be able to think of you as a 'friend'" she managed enough courage to glare at him. Izaya leaned in close, right up in her face.
"But we could be of so much benefit to each other if we were friends, Anni-chan!" he confided. His words were sweet, but the threat in his eyes was unmistakable. The only benefit to her would be avoiding more of his torture.
"I'm not going to tell you anything, so you can go screw off now." That damn smirk. Those eyes tearing apart her every expression. Her nerves were breaking down. Her fear might shut her down again.
He finally leaned back, pulling a hand out of his pocket to hover over his heart. "That hurts, Anni-chan! All I want to do is welcome you to your new home, which you already seem to know sooo much about."
"Bullshit" she barked, interrupting him. Then she found out why he had chosen to back up. A street sign whizzed past her ear, burying itself in the concrete right in front of her, where Izaya had previously been standing. It vibrated from the impact, emitting a low metallic ring. Nearly having her head taken off brought more relief than surprise. She'd been hoping for something of the sort since she first laid eyes on the informant.
The call floated to her then, full of the same crazed rage she expected. "Izaya-kun~" He drew out each syllable, letting his voice ring out lazily with his fury.
"Ah, but sadly I must leave you, my dear Anni-chan. Take care to not get yourself squished!" Izaya called, starting to skip backwards, and waving as he dashed off down the street.
"GET BACK HERE!" Shizuo roared, retrieving the sign as he thundered past. Anni didn't react. She didn't move for a while. It took her a few minutes to collect herself enough to slip into a nearby alleyway and slide down the wall, into a little ball. She hated him. She absolutely hated him. She knew Izaya was dangerous, long before she'd first laid eyes on him. That's what got her into trouble in the first place.
-!One day earlier!-
It had been a very productive second day. She'd gotten her resume out a bunch of good places, and one had even agreed to interview her two days from now. Her apartment was pretty nice, and she'd caught a few glimpses of people she'd recognized. It was incredible to see them real, in person. Simon was passing out flyers. She watched Celty zip past. Erika and Walker strolled by, talking emphatically about one thing or another that she didn't catch. She was happy, extremely so. That was probably what had first caught his attention. What caught his interest though was her expression when she first spotted him. The last person she wanted to see. Anni could only imagine the fear and disgust that warped her face. She quickly tried to turn into an alleyway, to act like it was nothing, to break his line of sight, but she knew it was too late. "Two rules" her brother had told her. "Don't interfere with any of the characters involved in the main plot, and keep yourself safe." She had probably just broken both in one fell swoop.
Her fears were confirmed when she bumped into someone on her way out of the alleyway. "Oh! I'm so sorry, are you alright?" Izaya chided, gripping her upper arms as if to steady her. His sharp eyes seemed to pierce effortlessly into her soul.
"I- I'm fine, don't worry about me!" She faked a smile as best she could. As he let her go, she thought she was free, and turned quickly to move on down the street. Anywhere, just away from him.
"Ah, wait a moment!" he called. Anni flinched and came to a halt. He sauntered up in front of her quickly crossing the few steps of space she had gained. "Have we met before?" Izaya asked casually, his eyes gleaming.
Anni was rattled already. She never did well under social pressure, and his effortless control over everything scared her. "No, I don't think so" she said, trying to seem confused.
"Are you sure? You look a little familiar" he claimed as he leaned in, pretending to get a closer at her features.
Anni stumbled back a step, and tried again to turn away. "I'm sorry, I don't think I've ever seen you before, Izaya. If you'll excuse me-" Damn it. Damn it all. Damn him.
"Ah, but you know my name, and I don't even know yours! I think we should remedy this, don't you…?" he asked from where he was. He didn't need to dance up in front of her this time. Anni stopped and slowly turned her shoulders.
"Anni" she said.
"Ah, Anni-chan then!" She hated the way he said it. She could understand now why it got on Shizuo's nerves so much. "Now, how is it that you know my name again?" his tone somehow managed to strike a balance between light-hearted and threatening. It would have been really cool, had she not been on the receiving end.
"Ah, a friend mentioned you. They said you were someone to be avoided." That was safe, right?
"How cruel! Who would say something so mean? I'm actually really nice…" The grin that followed made her heart skip a beat.
"I can't really remember" she whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm late, I have to go" she hurriedly forced out.
"I'll see you later then, Anni-chan!" Izaya promised. A shiver ran up her spine as she hurried away. What damage could he do if he knew what I know?
-!DRRR!-
Anni was so well wrapped up in her little ball she didn't notice the footsteps that came to a halt over her, or how the owner of said footsteps was still catching his breath. "Anni" he called gently. She came back to the present with a jolt, taking a fearful moment to recognize her only friend in Japan. He looked concerned and guilty. A bit like a kicked puppy. "Did I scare you?"
"No, I'm not afraid of you. It's Izaya that scares me. I feel like he's going to tear me apart from the inside out" she admitted, wrapping her arms more tightly around her knees. Shizuo was quiet for a moment.
"Seriously?" the confused man asked. Anni looked up to find him staring down at her in shock.
"I meant what I said, if that's what you're asking" she explained, surprised by his reaction. She used the wall to climb back to her feet, making sure to grab her bag along the way. "Anyway, I'm gonna head home. I'll see you later" she bid, starting off. She gave him a wave, but he only stared after her like she was crazy.
-!DRRR!-
"I swear, it's like he can smell that I know what happens. It's not fair, it's not right, there's nothing I can do!" Anni ranted into her phone, leaning her head back into the couch, careful to not disturb her towel hat too much.
"Do you want me to come over there and take care of him for you or not?" Alex sighed.
"Just tell me what I can do. I can't deal with him by myself." Anni whined, closing her eyes. Her sleepless night was starting to catch up with her.
"Anni, you just need to keep your head down and stay out of his way. He'll have enough to occupy himself with in a few months"
"That's a few months away. Just look at what I've managed to screw up in a few days!" Anni slid to fall on her side, her head landing on the armrest
"Stop being so pessimistic. You haven't actually screwed up that bad, no matter what I might or might not have said earlier"
Anni wished she could glare at him through the phone. "Now you're the optimist?"
"Shut up. Now enough about the damn informant"
"Sure. How are things going back home? I somehow forgot to ask" Anni forced her eyes to stay open, lest she fall asleep with her brother on the line.
"Bruce still doesn't like the kitten and work still sucks. You've been gone four days. Nothing has changed. I was more curious how things were going with your 'roommate'."
"Shut your face" Anni growled over Alex's satisfied laughter. "I'm trying not to influence him too much, but I have no idea if that's actually accomplishing anything"
"Just be careful not to let anything slip, alright? The last thing we need is spoilers"
"I know, I know" Anni gave in and let her eyes fall closed. Silence hung for a moment.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" came Alex's concerned question.
Anni waited another moment before responding. "No. I knew if I tried I would have nightmares again. I didn't want to keep everyone up all night…"
"You need to sleep sometime, Little Anni"
Anni heaved a large, tired sigh. "I'll get right to work on that then"
"Sleep well. I'm never farther than a phone call away, alright?" Anni let her phone click shut and curled around it, drifting off.
-!DRRR!-
Shizuo unlocked the door and stepped out of his shoes. He was happy to be home, and was more than ready to just fall asleep after the day he'd had. Absolutely none of the clients had wanted to cooperate. That combined with finding the flea not only in his city, but harassing his new roommate, made for a rather unpleasant day. On top of all that, he still didn't quite know what to make of the little blonde's strange revelation.
Speaking of Anni, the girl was curled up on the couch with a towel on her head. What does she have against beds? Shizuo carefully picked her up and carried her to his room, the towel falling to the couch and her phone left behind. The towel made it to the hamper, Anni's phone to the side of the futon, and Shizuo to sleep on his couch.
-!DRRR!-
It seemed that he had only be lying there for a few seconds before he heard the scream. He wasn't awake until after he had forced the sliding bedroom door open. Anni didn't flinch. She didn't look up. She just sat there, the blanket gripped under white knuckles. "It's ok, it's ok" she cooed, though Shizuo wasn't sure who she was trying to convince. It was quiet for a moment as they both regathered their wits.
"Another nightmare?" he assumed. Anni only nodded. "You seemed to sleep fine last night"
"That's because I didn't sleep last night" she answered coolly, checking the time on her phone. Only 2:15 she noted with disappointment. Shizuo headed back to his couch.
"You'll need to catch up on sleep tonight then. Don't you have an interview tomorrow?"
"Yes. Don't you have work tomorrow?" Anni asked, getting up to lean in the doorway.
"What's that got to do with anything?" he demanded, lying back across the couch and folding his hands behind his head.
"I'm going to take that as a yes" she sighed. "Goodnight Shizuo-san"
"'night Anni" he replied, watching her disappear into his room and close the door. It didn't take him long to fall back into the comfort of sleep.
-A/N-
Edited by my dear friends Alondor Fridwein and Faded Phoenix