Izaya's phone and flash drive have been burning holes in his pockets for hours now, and as nice as spending time with Shizuo today was he really just wanted him to go do anything else so he could read up on his entire school and delinquent history in peace.
Now that school's finally over he can rush out, pick up his sisters, then lock himself in his room to read and take notes on everything.
Except, when he gets to his sisters, they aren't their usual chipper selves.
From down the street, he can see the twins clinging to each other next to their teacher in the little concrete and asphalt courtyard where many of the children wait for their parents. He can see the way the moms around them steer their children from the scene with pitying wave to the teacher. He can hear them crying louder as he approaches and the terrible sound has him moving faster despite the disdain he feels for dealing with the situation. Soon, but not soon enough, he's stepping up onto the curb and stopping in front of them, adjusting his coat in an effort to cover the awkwardness he feels. The awkwardness he always feels when approaching his sisters in public, wondering how exactly he should be greeting them to balance caring for the girl's emotional needs and keeping up the appearance of being their brother - not, effectively, their parent.
"What happened?" Izaya asks, looking between his sisters and their teacher.
The twins, Mairu mostly, scream and cry for their teacher not to teacher starts to speak but whatever she had to say is drowned out by the increasingly panicked screaming and crying of his sisters. He grits his teeth and wishes they wouldn't do that. It's piercing and not at all what he remembers being like as a child.
When Mairu and Kururi's teacher predictably fails to console them Izaya steps in closer and crouches down to their level while the girls hug each other tighter. Years of practice allows him to appear relaxed and in control of the situation despite his entire body feeling tight. But nothing good ever comes of letting someone see you sweat.
Izaya reaches back into the side pocket of his bag and fishes out a pack of tissues, trying not to feel like an experienced mother with a full purse of supplies for her kids. Because Mairu and Kururi are not his children. They are his sisters and the three of them have parents. Izaya rips open the pack of tissues and reaches out with one to wipe the tears and snot off their faces.
"Mairu, Kururi." He says, calm and steady as he reaches out to wipe the tears and snot off of their faces. "Why are you crying?"
The girls sniffle and glance at each other, completely quiet for a moment to communicate in a way Izaya will never understand. They come apart slowly, just enough so they can both face him, but still close enough to hold hands tightly.
Izaya swallows a stale lump of envy and stuffs the soiled tissue into his empty jacket pocket before pulling a clean tissue out of the pack to finish the job.
Kururi speaks up first for once. "Nii-chan… angry…" she mumbles, looking down at ground between them. Izaya frowns at her words but knows better than to respond before letting Mauri have her say.
"Yeah…" Mauri sniffles, as expected, and clutches her skirt with her free hand. "If sensei tells then… Then, you'll get angry at us!"
Ah, so that's it. They got in trouble again. Izaya sighs internally, relieved that's all it is. He shoves the newly soiled tissue into his pocket with the other one and reaches out to grab each of their free hands, gently prying Mairu's from her skirt.
"I won't get angry." He promises and the girls relax, knowing their brother well enough to be sure that he doesn't tell them pretty lies. After a few more sniffles and hiccups the two calm down enough for Izaya to stand and address the teacher, allowing his sisters to cling to his hands.
The teacher is visibly relieved and Izaya can guess why. These girls have more than enough energy to make a fuss for hours.
"Mairu and Kururi got into a fight with some boys on the playground. Mauri pushed one boy off the jungle gym and Kururi bit one so hard he'll need stitches." She explains quickly, glancing at his sisters nervously - waiting for the one wrong word that could set them off again.
Izaya can feel his eyebrow twitch the tiniest bit. That's all… what a hassle.
He nods at the teacher, painting on a sympathetic smile and knitting his brows up into remorse, then looks back down at his sisters.
"Is this true?" He asks.
Kururi nods and Mairu takes a deep breath to launch into their side of the story.
"Yeah, but those boys deserved it!" She shouts, getting up on her tiptoes as if Izaya would have any trouble hearing her if she didn't. "They were picking on us! They called us freaky and called Kururi retarded just 'cause she doesn't like to talk around their stupid faces!"
Kururi nods again and tightens her hold on Izaya. "Said Mairu was ugly…"
Izaya's head snaps back up to look at the teacher but holds his expression steady. He asks her, in the same tone he used with has baby sisters, "Is this true?"
"Yes." She responds, already on the defensive from what Izaya is sure is years of experience with dealing with overprotective mothers. Fortunately for her, Izaya is not an overprotective mother. "The boys are going to be dealt with accordingly and their parents have been told the whole story as well. However, Mairu and Kururi took standing up for themselves too far, again, and still don't understand that there's a better way to deal with these issues."
Izaya smiles wider, almost going crooked from being unrestrained so much in front of Shizuo before he gets it under control.
"I understand. I'll talk to them about it." He placates and tightens his hold on his sister and starts to turn, more than ready to leave already.
But she just can't let them go yet, can she? "Wait a moment, Orihara-san. This is a recurring issue and my concern is that you 'talking' to them yet again is not going to fix the problem. I would like to have a meeting with your parents."
The Orihara siblings tense. Mairu and Kururi are afraid that if their parents hear about them getting trouble that they'll visit even less. Izaya is afraid of seeing their parents at all after only three phone calls this past month.
"I'm afraid our parents are away on a business trip at the moment." Izaya dismisses with his most charming smile, sugarcoating the situation. "If you'd still like a meeting I can see you after school."
She frowns at this, but nods. "Alright, I'll call you to schedule something later but… Orihara-san, is everything alright at home?"
Not this again.
"Of course, our parents make sure we have everything we need.
The best liars always tell the truth.
Finally, Izaya, Mairu, and Kururi are on their way home. To prove he isn't angry with them he carries Mairu on his back the first half of the way and Kururi on his back the second half.
So much for my Shizu-chan tonight…
Back at home with his sisters, their favorite take-out on the way, he sits them down in the kitchen for their talk.
The first three times this happened he lied about talking to them. He really didn't care that they beat up some brats. This time, he thinks they could use a quick lesson from their big brother.
"Mairu, Kururi… Have the teachers ever called Mom and Dad because I got in trouble? Or have I ever been late to pick you up because I got detention?"
The girls shake their heads and Mairu opens her mouth to retort, but Izaya beats her to it.
"This isn't because I've never broken any rules. I'll tell you two a secret, I break rules all the time."
The girls eyes widen and Mairu doesn't seem interested in interrupting him anymore.
"I break rules all the time and sometimes I have to get back at bullies just like you guys do - because you're right. They deserve it. But you need to figure out how to break rules and get back at them without getting caught."
"How?" They demand in unison.
"You two are smart," Izaya says with a smile. "Together I know you can figure something out. Lots of people break the rules, part of growing up is learning to get away with it. So next time, get away with it and we won't have to go through this again."
If these two are going to be fighting, maybe I should get them martial arts classes. The budget will be tight but… It's about time I started making money on my own anyway.