An uneventful week followed the Saika incident. Anni did her best to stay indoors most of the time, unless she was walking with her current or former roommate. Even she was vulnerable to a group of yellow scarves, and she knew there would be plenty out looking for a fight. It wasn't even purely self-preservation that drove her to seek company, but the lingering need to keep herself from influencing the story. It scared her to think of what would happen to anyone wearing yellow if Alex or Shizuo heard she'd been assaulted by the gang. She wondered for a while who would do more damage, but eventually gave up. The only conclusion she could draw was that Shizuo would do more physical damage, and Alex would drive every one of them insane.
Anni absently ran her fingers over the small knot on her clavicle; the excessive bone growth that had resulted from the fracture not wanting to heal correctly. The shadows were her friends now, as she watched Alex talking to Shizuo across the street. Her brother had started discreetly packing up his things when she wasn't around. It was almost cute how he tried to hide that he was planning on leaving soon. This morning he had attempted to sneak out without waking her, so she decided she would be using her free time before work to follow him and see what he was planning. What Anni didn't expect was that he would immediately hunt down the bodyguard. Whatever happened to non-interference? She didn't have a good view of their faces, and couldn't hear what they were saying, but it seemed civil. After a minute or so, they waved their goodbyes and Alex left Shizuo to his smoke break. Anni sighed. She wouldn't get anywhere like this.
"What are you scheming today?" she asked, trotting up behind her brother as he walked.
"And here I thought you were still sleeping in" Alex said, stopping to ruffle her hair.
"Don't avoid me now, not when you're about to leave" Anni pouted. She stuck her bottom lip out for emphasis.
"Well, you caught me. I'm getting ready to head back home. I can only afford to pay Ryan to feed the cats for so long, y'know" he offered with a noncommittal shrug.
"And what exactly does you going home have to do with Shizuo?" Anni crossed her arms. She felt like he was planning payback for all the headaches she'd put him through since she got here. With their history of prank wars, it wasn't a far fetched idea.
"Ah, you'll have to ask Sir Cancer-Sticks about that one. I'm not at liberty to share that kind of-"
"If you're planning to screw with me right now-"
"No! Calm down. I thought we agreed to leave the pranks behind after the 'incident'." It was Alex's turn to cross his arms.
"We both know who's more likely to break that pact" Anni observed. The staredown was on. It was Simon who broke them up.
"Oh, Alex, Anni! Don't look so sour-faced! Fighting is bad for health. You fight because you're hungry. Eat sushi instead!" he ordered in broken Japanese. He held a basket over one shoulder.
"We're not fighting" the siblings explained in synch, neither uncrossing their arms.
"I'm just sad my big brother will be going back to America soon. I don't know what I'll do without him!" Anni said, letting herself use her puppy-dog eyes. Alex shot her a sidelong glare.
"Then eat at Russia Sushi before you go. I give you discount, you'll be happy again!" Simon gave a wide smile.
"We'll come over for dinner then" Anni promised, returning his smile. Seeming contented with that much, Simon waved and left.
"What the hell do you think I'm planning for?" Alex hissed as soon as Simon was out of earshot.
"I don't know, that's what scares me" Anni replied earnestly.
"Just trust me for once, will you? I'm not going to go through this convoluted of a plan just to spike your food with laxatives." Alex ran one hand back through his hair. It was a small gesture, but a genuine one.
"Alright, I'll trust you. For now. Just don't do anything stupid, ok?" she warned. And that was that. Alex left for wherever his plans wanted to take him, and Anni went home to retrieve her sketch pad.
-!DRRR!-
"Just don't do anything stupid." The phrase ran circles through Alex's mind, teasing him as he walked through Shinjuku. How was what he was about to do anything but stupid? But Anni's safety came first. Had she not been in such a dangerous situation in Ikebukuro, he might have cooked up a nice cocktail of sleep-aid and laxatives for all the trouble she'd caused, but safety always came first. He could even the score in other ways. The building looked familiar, and he could almost feel the eyes on him from the top floor. He didn't doubt he would be expected. As he thought, he was let in without hesitation. After opening the door for him, Namie huffed and went upstairs to get back to whatever work she'd been doing.
"Ah, you two look just alike. You must be Alex-san" Izaya said, looking up from his computer for only a moment. He was lounging comfortably behind his desk, typing away. Alex took a look around, noting the chessboard on the coffee table and the top of the jar behind some books in one of the bookshelves.
"Indeed I am, Kami-sama" Alex said, strolling over to sit on the couch in the living alcove. He looked over the placement of the pieces, going over in his head which represented who.
"What brings you to me today?" Izaya asked, giving his full attention to Alex now.
"I came here for my sister. I want her left off this board." Alex leaned back after assuring himself there weren't any unidentified pieces.
"So you came here to 'take care of me' then?" Izaya asked, swiveling his chair to look directly at where Alex sat.
He couldn't help but laugh. "Ah, I did say that didn't I? Yes, I'm here to 'take care of you' in a way, but only in so far as you're a threat to Anni. I didn't come here to attack you, but to make a deal with you."
"Really?" Izaya leaned forward, propping his elbows on his desk. "And what do you have to offer me for such a deal?"
"Come on Izaya. You're more intelligent than that. Information. You do make a living dealing with it, don't you?"
"And what information would be worth Little Anni's safety to you? What spoilers are you willing to give up to keep her out of trouble?" Izaya's eyes gleamed.
"I'll let you decide that. I'll answer three questions, no holds barred, then Anni and I fall off your radar forever. Does that sound fair?"
-!DRRR!-
Anni was getting impatient. She would probably be better off waiting in her apartment to grill her brother, but she had made her choice, and she was going to follow through with it. Besides, it would likely be easier to get answers out of Shizuo than Alex, as Alex seemed content that she didn't know what was going on. So Anni went back to scrolling through the channels from Shizuo's couch. His apartment hadn't changed from the last time she'd been here, save for her drawing, which she found taped to one of the walls. That made her smile.
"Anni? Why are you here?" Shizuo had somehow managed to slip in without her noticing.
"I wanted to talk to you. You insisted I keep the key, so I assumed I was welcome." Anni gave up her search and flipped the TV off.
"You are. This about what your brother said earlier?"
"Ya. He's leaving soon, and seems to be planning something before he goes. When I asked him about it, he said I should talk to you" Anni explained as Shizuo took his place on the couch beside her.
"I don't know about his plans, but he asked me to keep you out of trouble while he wasn't around. He also said something about you being drawn to the most dangerous situations" he recounted lazily. "After running into you in the alley and the demon sword thing, I don't think he's wrong."
"I don't try to get myself into trouble…" Anni was interrupted by her phone ringing. "Hello?... No, I'm fine, I'm at Shizuo's… Why would Maya..? ...I'll be home soon then" and with that she hung up. "I need to head back to my place" she announced, standing.
"I might as well walk with you. It's dark out." Shizuo stood.
"I know my brother asked you to be my bodyguard too, but it's barely a block away. I'll be fine." Her arguments fell on deaf ears, as he already had his shoes back on.
"Come on" he coaxed, opening the door.
"You're impossible, you know that?"
-!DRRR!-
Shizuo almost made it to the stairs from Anni's door when he heard her shout, "Where the hell do you think you're going?!" He turned to see she had her older brother by his backpack.
"Well, since you're here to entertain Maya, I thought I would head back home" he replied teasingly, twisting from her grip. "I'll see you later sis." Alex danced back, towards the stairs. Anni caught Shizuo's eye, silently pleading for his help. He couldn't leave now. So he reached out and caught the front of Alex's shirt as he tried to squeeze past.
"Give your sister a proper goodbye" he growled at the eldest Hael, lifting him with ease. It was hard to miss the fright that passed across his eyes, something Shizuo was used to seeing by now. Alex quickly tempered his expression and let himself hang limp.
"She hates drawn out goodbyes. I'm trying to-" Alex started to explain quietly, as if to keep his sister from hearing. What stopped him was said sister slamming into him with a flying-tackle-hug. Does she have no sense of self-preservation? She hit with enough force to tear him from Shizuo's grip, yet the pair still managed to find their feet. Anni said something in english that he didn't catch, and smacked her brother upside the head before pushing him away. Alex nodded silently and disappeared down the stairs, nursing the shoulder Anni crashed into.
"Thank you" Anni said once her brother was gone. "It really means a lot."
"Ya. You're welcome. I'll see you-" Anni caught Shizuo off guard, pulling him down so she could wrap her arms around his neck. Before he could think to react, she had released him, and was trotting back to her doorway, where another female stood in shock. She pushed her friend back into her apartment and unceremoniously closed and locked the door. What the hell?
-!DRRR!-
Anni had no idea how Shizuo would react to that, and she didn't particularly want to stick around and find out. A sigh escaped her as she locked the door. He shouldn't be in a mood to be tearing doors off hinges right now, right?
"That was Heiwajima Shizuo" Maya observed, still processing what she'd seen.
"Ya. I know. I lived on his couch for a month" Anni said, letting herself smile.
"That's the same Heiwajima Shizuo who throws people and vending machines around the city for fun" Maya clarified.
"It's not quite 'for fun', but you are indeed correct." I'm going to have to call Alex in the morning and demand to know what else he did Anni mused as she dropped onto her couch.
"Anni! This guy is something straight out of a manga!-"
"-You have no idea-"
"-He's not someone you want to get involved with!"
"Speak for yourself" Anni retorted. Maya huffed at her. "I did mention that I lived on his couch for a month, didn't I?" she added to make a point.
"Yes you did, and it's a wonder you're still ali-" Maya seemed to be struck by some sudden realization. "Anni, how did you say you were hurt last month?"
"I didn't" Anni's tone darkened, and she glared at her friend. "Stop pinning blame on the people around me. It was my own stupidity that got me hurt, and nothing else. Understand?"
"Anni, you're being-"
"So what brought you to endure my brothers company for a full hour?" Anni interrupted, her tone suddenly light.
Maya huffed at her again. She glared into Anni's smile before shaking her head and retrieving a shoulder bag. "Some reckless little girl forgot her sketch pad at the shop" was all the explanation she gave as she returned it.
"You could have just left it with Alex" Anni said, cradling the forgotten article.
"But then I wouldn't have had a chance to look through it. I noticed a bit of a theme in your choice of subjects. You're really are too obsessed with manga, you know."
"What do you mean?" Anni asked innocently, her eyes widening a bit at the accusation.
"What, making up a manga name and drawing everyone around Ikebukuro in that style? Don't think I wouldn't recognize the sushi shop guy and those two talkative regulars from work. What is 'Durarara' supposed to mean, anyway?"
"It's, um…" Anni scratched the back of her neck. How was she supposed to explain this? Maya scoffed at her and pulled the book from Anni's hand, searching through it for a specific page. "Hey, what are you-"
"And who's this guy?" Maya interrogated, pointing to one of the many unpleasant situations Anni had drawn Izaya in. "What the hell did he do to you to make you hate him this much?"
"It's a long story" Anni finally settled on, standing up and taking her sketch pad back.
"Is he an ex then?" Maya assumed, seeming to enjoy having Anni off balance. The blonde went red. She could barely handle talking to him for a few minutes, the thought of DATING the sociopath was a little too much for her to handle.
"N-no! Where do you keep getting these ideas?" she stumbled.
Maya laughed at her. "I'm taking that as a ye-es" she sang, taking her shoulder bag and heading for the door. "I'll see you at work tomorrow. You can give me the full story about you and your ex then." She was gone before Anni could stutter out a response.
"See you" Anni sighed, locking the door after her friend's departure.
-A/N-
*Kami-sama: Literally "lord God"
Edited by my dear friend Faded Phoenix