Edited 11/25/11

Izaya soon found out that the young man he rescued just a couple of minutes ago was named Mikado Ryuugamine.

Just a couple of minutes ago he made an unnecessary comment that the said name reminded him of an air conditioner.

A meeting that most would have thought no importance would come of it. Although you have told yourself that this meeting was a coincidence you know damn hell that it was predestined.

It wasn't a coincidence that this man had forgotten his wallet at home, Mikado only noticed this when he had wanted to give his savior a token of his appreciation.

((You don't have to really. ))

A careless lie.

It wasn't a coincidence, especially when Mikado invited the young boy to tea at his apartment .-But the most interesting part of this predicament was that Mikado inhabited the same apartment complex Orihara Izaya's family lived in at the time. It was definitely peculiar when they came to realize they were next door neighbors.

' How interesting.'

The home of Mikado was a small but cozy place .Izaya was currently sitting underneath a small table in the living room taking everything into consideration. The walls were light blue with white wallpaper at the top . The cabinets were made of wood and see-through glass that had porcelain dishes and cups alongside various herbs and spices. He turned to the kitchen and acknowledged that the counter gave a clear view to anything that was to happen in the kitchen. The young boy noted Mikado was fond of nature and had various plants and flowers miscellaneously placed . All in all, it reminded him of a museum of some sort. Nostalgic even.

Izaya appeared to be calm, but his mind was bombarded with questions and theories. Did Mikado-kun live with anyone ?Did Mikado-kun just barely move? I've never seen him before and I wonder what he likes to read, look over there! What is that? It looks strange ,oh wait those are his slippers. They're so girly. He stopped thinking for a while once his eyes laid upon some magazines on the floor. Izaya lazily picked one up that had to do with electronics and computers. He had this exact same magazine in his own room and had highlighted all the things that caught his interest, but not before he memorized every line in them. He was an incredibly smart boy, which made him incredibly terrible, but that just made him incredibly dangerous .

When he was done speculating the room he placed his interest on his host.

Mikado had a white apron on his waist and had removed small tea-making paraphernalia from the kitchen pantry.

"Please make yourself at home," Mikado called from the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind ,I'll be making some tea and pastries for us. It's the only way I can thank you right now. I hope it's not too much trouble."

Izaya waved him off and stretched his arms.

"I noticed that man following me for some time since I left the grocery...I just didn't know what to make of him. At first I thought it was all in my mind , but as I kept walking, I occasionally turned around to see if he was still following me. I was frightened and had no idea what would come of that predicament...that's when you arrived. Such a young and earnest boy ."

Mikado smiled and Izaya just stared thoughtfully as he was handed a small cup with a saucer. The elder boy poured the tea from a matching pot, it was of porcelain Izaya noticed with small intricate floral patterns. It looked Victorian and reminded him of that era and all the works he had researched on them. He couldn't help but stare at the long fingers holding a silver spoon expectantly.

"Sugar? "

" Two."

Mikado continued to speak as he placed a cake stand on top of the table. The cakes came in all sorts of colors and textures. Some with fruit and some with almonds, Izaya looked at them with mild interest.

"Many people wouldn't bother to help someone in need like I was...people are more interested in themselves...even though they do help it's always out of self interest. What a pity."

Izaya almost snorted as he sipped his tea but nodded in agreement.

"Is this black tea?"

"Yes, mixed with some milk. Is it not to your liking Orihara-san?"

Such polite speech..is he seriously like this all the time?

"Ne, ne! Call me Izaya-kun!Or Izaya-tan!"

"T-that's too informal!"

Izaya didn't know why but he was starting to become attached to this person in spite of himself.

"I'll call you Mikado-kun!" he exclaimed.

"I don't think that's acceptable." Mikado said. "I'm older than you. If anything I should be calling you that."

"How so?"

"The uniform you are currently wearing is from a nearby high school right? Its from ... Raira. I'm not in high school anymore."

Izaya was shocked, but nevertheless he didn't show it. He was taller than the young man and had expected him to be around his own age (17), and anyways this person had such a baby face. Izaya wondered if Mikado was constantly asked for identification in nightclubs and what not. Mikado looked like the type to walk around cautiously even at Tokyo Disney.

Izaya's smirk remained plastered on his countenance, sometimes he thought that 'that' was the only expression he was capable of making. At least it was better than having a scowl on his face. That was so unattractive.

"Uwahhh, so like," Izaya reached over the table excited. " You are an adult!"

"Yes, I'm 22 years old. I was surprised to hear you live here as well, I barely moved today. I had just finished unpacking and wanted to become acquainted with the city...but perhaps some other time."

He had added the last part rather nervously.

Izaya nodded and began eating the cookies and cakes that were in front of him. Mikado turned toward the kitchen planning on refilling the teapot.

"These are delicious Mikado-kun!Did you make these yourself?" Izaya grabbed five cakes that caught his eye and stuffed them into his back pack. Some for the road. Making sure the elder man's back was turned Izaya grabbed the sugar jar and swallowed four spoonfuls.

When Mikado turned around he seemed oblivious to it all as he laid more sugary concoctions on the table.

"Yes, I did. I'm glad you seem to like them so much. If I haven't troubled you yet I would like to see if you accept my invitation to dine with me? I-if you need to get home before your parents scold you it's alright."

Ha!Like his parents gave a damn.

"No,it's fine. I'll stay, besides I want to taste more of Mikado-kun's cooking!"

Mikado was an extremely cautious and mousy person, but he had to repay this boy somehow. He had an uneasy feeling whenever he looked at him,something about Izaya..was off. Incredibly off. And when the younger boy would smile, it wouldn't reach his eyes, those eyes showed not warmth, but vanity .He had a feeling... the feeling of wanting to cry and throw up at the same time. But the strange thing was,he didn't know which one of them wanted to. Izaya or himself.

Nevertheless he put all these thoughts behind him and continued to cook for the young boy and mixed the ingredients with spices stirring them with some chopsticks.

"Smells good Mikado-kun!~"

"I hope your not allergic."

"Not at all,are you a chef?"

"I have just grown accustomed to cook for myself most of the time. I'm actually a teacher," Mikado explained as he added in some shrimp to his mixture. " I plan on working in Raira Academy, I hope you'll be one of the students to call me Teacher!"

It was definitely not a coincidence.

' How interesting.'

After a delicious dinner and polite bows, Izaya walked toward his apartment and dug in his backpack for the cakes he had stolen from Mikado. He was to give one to each of his sisters he told himself. Maybe to his mother if she was in the mood(or not dieting at the time).

He opened the door to his shared living quarters to come upon his two elder sisters looking down on him with contempt.

"Little brother" they sing sang. "You are in troubllllllllle."

Izaya grinned.

"Cake?"

Well that shut them up. The two elder girls whispered to each other as they walked toward their shared room. They were so strange, but he followed behind them .As soon as he assumed he was out of the red he breathed a sigh of relief and continued going upstairs.

"Izaya, come here. Your father and me would like to speak to you.."

Damn.

You mean you want to speak to me ,not my father.

"Coming." He coyly sang.

He frolicked toward his parents side and received strange looks from both of them on the couch.

" Izaya-san, we hope to come to an understanding with you. Please listen."

"Ok, ok ,ok!"

Izaya walked toward the couch gracefully and sat with his legs crossed.

"We received a call from your principle today," his mother began.

" That's amazing!" Izaya feigned surprise."I talked to him as well, he called me in because I was in a fight with this boy. Is that what you wanted to talk about?If so I don't want to talk about him right now, or any time ,really. I have a lot of homework to do, so-"

"Izaya-san...sit down."

" But, why?"

" Izaya, please don't play that 'but why ' game with us!"

"But, why?"

His father decided it was time for him to say something.

"What happened? Is this boy bullying you?We noticed you've been caught fighting lately."

'Caught' was the keyword. Izaya was constantly fighting in elementary, middle school, and in high school. It just so happened he had been going overboard as of lately, maybe he was loosing his touch? Izaya pushed these thoughts away. Some other time.

"No mother, this boy-" He started to put a pathetic face." I don't know why but he just hates me. I tried to be his friend..but he just pushes me away.."

Izaya looked genuinely concerned and for once in their lives the parents thought that they were finally going to become closer to their strange son.

But that moment was short lived as he began to laugh .The young boy stopped after a minute leaving the couple shocked and hurt. When he had gained his composure his smirk grew a hundred fold.

"Can I go to my room now?"

Seeing as the boy would not budge the parents gave up .

"At least tell us where you were today."

"I was at a neighbor's house."

Parents exchanged looks as Izaya climbed the stairs.

Walking toward his room he heard giggles from his elder siblings and decided that he wasn't up for beginning a battle of wits with them. He didn't know why but his parents left him in a sour mood. They were both idiots and they were the goody-goody two shoes type of people. Sometimes he thought, he and his sisters were adopted and had been given to the same couple. He even tried researching and tried to (desperately) prove his certificate as fake.

He confronted his mother once about it and she just laughed.

Izaya debated over whether he should give her the cake in his backpack and smirked.

"No cake for you!"

Mikado and his parents were the same he thought. Both were a bunch of fakers, he began to laugh silently.( but he still loved them, he did, he did.) He grabbed the cake and smashed it in a nearby wall continuing to giggle by himself. He continued doing so as he sprawled on his bed.

Muffled music with acoustic guitars and light drum beats were being omitted from the balcony. He stood from his bed draped in a wine bed cover and opened the slide-in door.

A voice began to accompany the music then, and only then , did Izaya began to notice that the song was in Chinese.

The curious boy looked around him trying to make ends meet as to where the music was coming from, that was when he turned to see his next door neighbor's balcony.

Mikado's balcony was decorated by by all types of tulips, carnations ,and roses (these were all Izaya could name at the moment and he reminded himself to look up information on flowers later), so much, that they seemed to be crawling around the place. There was a transparent table crowded in between the balcony and on top of it was a small radio that had a CD player slot.

The young adult placed a teacup to his lips.

" Mikado-kun."

In return he raised his hand and waved politely.

"This song is in Chinese." Izaya stated.

"Yes. "

Izaya had noticed Mikado never spoke unless spoken to, or when had to. He had spoken so much earlier because as a host one should entertain their guests. He put this information in the back of his mind with a new folder entitled 'Mikado-kun'.

"Do you understand Chinese? Wait, is it Mandarin or Cantonese? How cool!"

Mikado raised his voice in hopes of Izaya hearing him.

"Yes, it's my second language. It 's Mandarin by the way. "

The younger boy leaned toward Mikado's balcony.

"Are you half Chinese?"

Mikado nodded.

"Your eyes are blue I assumed you were mixed with a European or a Western country. Have you ever lived in China?"

This child was curious as a cat.

"I lived there for the last two years."

As soon as the boy was getting ready to ask another question Mikado heard a women's voice from Izaya's room.

"Izaya-san?"

It was his mother. She walked out toward the boy and turned around to face Mikado.

"Hello" She bowed politely as Mikado stood up to do the same. "I hope my son isn't bothering you."

"Not at all , Orihara-san. In fact," Mikado rose to collect his tea set. " He saved me today from a robber. Your son is an earnest and kind young boy."

"Izaya-san! You should have told me...and to think I thought you were up to no good!" Izaya's mother began to tear up as she held her son in an awkward embrace. Izaya began to flail around in embarrassment and looked to see Mikado's expression, only for him to have returned inside his apartment.

Inside Mikado's abode he began to laugh joyfully at the sight of the boy's expression. He must have been so embarrassed, he thought.

Mikado woke up at 6:10 sharp. He made himself a quick breakfast and waited in front of his apartment building. Checking his cell phone every three minutes he breathed a sigh of relief as a car stopped right in front of him.

"Mikado!" Masaomi waved frantically from his seat.

Mikado opened the door of his friends car and began to buckle in his seat belt.

"Kida-kun , I wished you wouldn't scream like that. I'm nervous enough as it is."

The light pop music in the car was being turned down as the driver flashed him a Cheshire grin.

"Look, don't sweat it. I told you, it's going to be just fine."

Mikado sighed.

"It's because you worked there for a while now, you have experience while I don't."

"That has nothing to do with it. Just watch out for two students if you get them. Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima."

" Izaya Orihara? He's my next door neighbor."

"Mikado quit joking."

"I'm not joking."

Masaomi did a double take.

"Holy shit ,Mikado! Do you have the best luck or what!" Mikado's blond friend laughed as he drove.

The two adults continued to talk in the car about the school's facility and it's employees. Masaomi also invited Mikado to eat with him around their lunch break and promised him that Anri would be there as well. Anri Sonohara was a dear friend. Even when he had left to China the three of them ( including their other friends) remained in contact via internet. Before they became adults they were inseparable, they would mostly be found at different parts of their old home town. In the same ice cream parlor, in that same corn field. Those were days they could never go back to.

"So, has Kasuka visited you lately?" Masaomi asked while he steered into the school parking lot.

"No," Mikado unbuckled his seat belt. " But ,I'll be sure to call him soon."

"Well, make sure ,ok? He's really worried about you right now."

Ok,ok,ok.

Shizuo stared out into the streets as his elder brother took him to school. They had stopped to get breakfast at a nearby diner and so far the day had been pretty well. Shizuo was just glad he had someone to eat with, food didn't taste so good alone.

"I'll be a little late today, my teacher said my history grades suck."

His brother paid attention to the road in front of him but nodded to show he was listening.

" I hate history. It's stupid , why bother learning it at all? They're all dead anyway."

The real reason why he detested History so much was not because of the material but because of who was in that class.

Granted, the teacher didn't bother him much ((even though he still thought he was a douche)) it was Izaya. That stupid, little bitch was in that class. Just thinkin' about him made him want to rip something to shreds.

In that said History class, picture him surprised when the old man was replaced by a younger guy. His name was Ryuu-Ryuuzaki-sensei...he thought. The young man had also mentioned ((Before a humble bow)) that school tutoring was still offered and he encouraged others to stay three to five in the afternoon . Shizuo could have easily left with just going home and skipping it. After all, the other teacher wasn't here anymore. But he felt incredibly guilty. So he decided to go after school anyways, no way in hell was he going to owe anyone anything.

The teacher began calling row. Shizuo tuned him out but when he heard that stupid ,disgusting voice...he just snapped.

"Orihara Izaya?"

"Mikado-kun!Present!"

"Shut the fuck up you dumb ass!"

"Mikado-kun!" Izaya pouted. "He called me a bad word."

"Don't tattle on me you little snitch!I'll kill you!"

Mikado didn't know what to do and he began to noticeably fidget. He decided that he should take his medication now( he was going to need it) ..but...

"P-please don't fight!" Mikado walked toward the seats. "Let's try to settle this with words."

Everyone looked at the teacher and started to laugh. Izaya included. What a riot! Once the class settled down Mikado ((in hopes that he could change the subject)) began to explain his class syllabus in detail. Soon , the fight that was about to commence was soon forgotten and everyone began writing down notes. Except Shizuo who was confused as to why the teacher hadn't sent him to the principle's office yet.

Nothing of importance happened that day with Shizuo. The same classes, the same lonely school lunches on the roof. Yet..something seemed out of place.

After school no one showed up for tutoring, ((surprise, surprise)) and it was only him and the young teacher who greeted him with a smile.

He was grateful, since he couldn't really talk well in front of others. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. That same out of place feeling crept up behind him as he sat at a random chair.

This was all too different for Shizuo .Here he was after school, it wasn't peculiar that he was after school(( since he was usually in detention, or in a fight with a local school gang who challenged him constantly)). Here he was seated in a desk sitting across ...Ryuu...((Ryuuzaki?)).

Shizuo never knew history to be so interesting, honestly, he thought it was all dates and numbers, but what Ryuugamine(?) taught him was that history could be treated as stories. With a main character and some plot twists, and an exciting climax to boot. Regardless of the new information what Shizuo enjoyed the most was the young teacher's passion for study.

"What's wrong Heiwajima san?"

"Nothing."

"Is that so? Is O-" Mikado stopped himself before he would come to regret it." Is someone bothering you?"

"That stupid flea just pisses me off...by just breathing."

"Ahhh, I understand." The teacher decided to leave it for today, he would talk to the blond boy when he was ready. He shouldn't pry.

"Well its not just... that."

Mikado's eyes lit up.

"Sometimes I get so angry and I don't even know why it bothers me so much! " Shizuo gripped the ends of the desk and as he did so, some wood chips began to fall on the ground. He didn't know what he was saying. Why was he going to tell this person anything at all?Mikado blinked.

"I can't control myself. I destroy anything that's around me and I can't stop without someone getting hurt. I don't want to though..." Shizuo gulped. He looked at his history text book's bar code number and started to focus on the dark figures written in permanent marker.

"I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."

Ryuugamine-sensei had placed his elbow on the table looking at Shizuo tentatively and at that moment for once he felt as if someone was actually listening to him .Shizuo's eyes connected toward the elder male, and he stood still.

This was the first time anyone had ever looked at him that way before.

Concern.

As if he were a friend.

"I have never wanted to become a threat."

Neither of them said anything for a minute or so. Shizuo just sat there as his frown was slowly turning into a small shy smile. Then Mikado began to speak.

"One time," he said,"when I was about seven, these boys in my class , I think his name was Huang Fu. I never did anything to him..actually I never did anything to anyone. But one day he just started to call me names. Horrible names..I didn't say anything because I couldn't. Really,I couldn't. I was mute when I was young."

As he said this Shizuo noticed the man appeared to be younger than his age and he noticed his hands tremble, tremble just like his were doing in his pocket right at the moment, or any moment. That same movement that he hated himself for.

" One day, they had the idea to beat me up after school. And every time they kicked me , they went closer to my face and whispered 'Want to scream?' or 'Does it hurt? Tell us so we can stop.' As much as I tried to talk I couldn't. What I'm trying to say Heiwajima san is-"

Mikado stopped and stared at Shizuo's behavior and wondered if he had just made a mistake.

Shizuo sat there tapping his feet up and down,wanting to go back in time –wanting to see this guy Huang F or whatever the hell his name was and rip HIS FUCKING BALLS OFF. Shizuo didn't notice when he had thrown the table he and his teacher were on out the window. He didn't notice when the window shards began to scatter outside and in the classroom, and he didn't notice when he had also thrown two chairs outside.

-Until a hand was placed on his shoulder, that was when everything came back to him. He turned around to see the young man crouched down beside him. Why were they on the floor? He didn't remember.

"Everything is going to be OK, Heiwajima-san just breath in and breath out. Everything is going to be ok."

Ok, ok ,ok.

No one had ever told Shizuo that and at that moment his loneliness hit him,like he was a fish out of water. And he couldn't help himself, and his hands began to tremble and he just remembered that he had forgot to put his own hands in his pockets. His shame was out for the whole world to see. Everything that was bothering him, the looks, the way people treated him , his strength, his mother.

At that moment Shizuo really, really thought everything was going to be ok.

He didn't know why. He just did.

As Shizuo's breathing became steady Mikado began to sigh in relief. He was exhausted yet at the same time felt satisfied.

As he started to pick up the broken shards ((while the young boy went to retrieve the furniture out on the school field)) he felt glad that he had became a teacher.

Thank you.