And finally, Kanra and Izaya meet Ran Izumi.
It's a simple thing to get his claws into Izumi. So simple, so predictable it's almost not satisfying - but it doesn't need to be. Not yet.
First, Kanra gets Izumi to like her. To Izaya's surprise, this is the hardest step. The moment Izumi busts out of his private room, ushering a frightened looking girl to exit, and lays his eyes on Kanra he immediately voices distaste.
"So, who's this bitch?" He asks, jerking his head towards Kanra.
Akihito immediately tenses, the conflict of fearing Izumi and genuinely caring for Kanra was written all over his body language. Ultimately the boy stays quiet, curling in on himself despite his firm hold on Kanra's arm. It makes Izaya wonder if he'd object should Izumi decide he wants Kanra for himself.
Kanra introduces herself as Akihito's friend, making sure to stutter before deciding on the term "friend" and giggle to appear uncertain about the extent of their relationship. As if Kanra or Izaya could ever be interested in someone so pathetic.
Izumi leans into Kanra's face to study it and the stare he gives is so unsettling that Izaya wonders for a bone-chilling moment if his cover is blown.
But thankfully, Izumi's not that sharp.
"She's cute I guess, for a chick with no tits. But she reminds me of my asshole little brother."
Izaya has no information about Izumi's little brother, but instinct tells him to be offended.
It take more work than he thought it would because he didn't anticipate being similar to Izumi's brother, but eventually Kanra wins him over enough by following his mother's advice and the advice of many books he's read. He lets Izumi do most of the talking, makes him feel important by emphasizing how infamous his name is - names have unexpected value, and lastly, lets the seeds he's sown of dramatized ideals against the police sink in from the other gang members.
That last part is important. It is imperative that Kanra is not the one to mention anything about striking out against the police to Izumi directly. On its surface it's a good enough idea that the low-rank Blue Squares will blurt it out without crediting Kanra, a piece of psychology any moron can count on, and that's exactly what happens. Izumi is so much of an alpha dog that he has no problems claiming the idea for his own.
With only a handful of conversational tricks Izumi Ran is all too happy to destroy his gang for Izaya with an idea that started out as sub-par and short-sighted and has since been inbred into something can can hardly be traced back to Kanra's carefully chosen words.
Izaya knows the Blue Squares are young and impulsive, but this is just sad. Really, this group was born to die.
Izumi invites his higher ranking members into his private room to discuss the details of his plan, and unfortunately Akihito isn't one of them. Not that Izaya can't find out what they've said later.
It's getting late and Izaya is beyond tired. All he wants to do it go to the library and nap with Shizuo. Izaya has never thought of himself as a touchy-feely person before, always thought he could barely stand touch.
But the first time Shizuo locked his arms around Izaya's waist from behind, Izaya cried.
Silently, a learned skill from a childhood with parents who didn't want to be bothered, but he cried and has been denying that happened to himself ever since.
But Kanra can't leave just yet. She has to let Akihito reaffirm his pathetic ego in front of her by lighting up some cheap cigarettes.
She's sure he's going to push for a kiss, but then he surprises her.
"Kanra… don't worry about Izumi, okay?" He says very quietly, very seriously as he looks in her eyes. "I know he's a jerk and not good to girls but… I want you to know that I like you and I won't let him hurt you. Even if he's my boss."
He murmurs with a cigarette he can hardly inhale between his lips, seeking her hand out with his own under the dim lights and using his lackluster shoulders as a line against the other boys behind him who are hollering about something else entirely.
Ah… he's falling for Kanra…
This is something Izaya considered, but never seriously took into account. The morality of making a young boy fall in love with a lie. Now that he's faced with it…
This is hilarious!
It takes all of Izaya's will power to distort the crazed smile that wants to mar Kanra's face into something soft and sweet. He doesn't know how he manages it, but Kanra doesn't laugh in Akihito's face tonight. She does manage to thank him gracefully and take her leave after kissing him on the cheek, strangling the laughter over his love-struck face into something that sounds like a girlish giggle of embarrassment.
But Izaya's not cruel to the point of inhumanity. He won't be dragging this masquerade out much longer, despite the fun little power rush he's getting over it.
A few hours later and Izaya's skipping to school, still feeling so proud of Kanra.
And when he sees his handsome beast Shizu-chan he can hardly resist getting into his lap as he sits in that wooden chair reading some C-grade mystery Izaya can solve just by looking at the cover. He refrains by kicking Shizuo's shin for attention followed by kissing his monster on the forehead.
And then all his pride drains from his face when Shizuo looks up at him with his nose twisted up on a stench Izaya had forgotten about.
"Izaya… why do you smell like cigarettes?"
After all this time. After being so careful Izaya made the same mistake twice. Not taking more precautions with the beast's nose.
Izaya has been so careful over the past week of being in the Blue Squares base to shower and wear fresh clothes because he hadn't forgotten about Shizu-chan's sense of smell. Except for today. Today he was enjoying himself too much.
Another stupid mistake! I may as well have 'amateur' written across my forehead!
:::
It's a rank smell that Shizuo would recognize anywhere and it absolutely does not belong on Izaya.
"Would you believe that I'm taking after you and decided to pick up smoking?" Izaya says. His tone is teasing, but it's always teasing so Shizuo has no idea if he means it or not.
Instinct says that Izaya is too smart to start smoking. Try a cigarette, maybe, but not become a smoker.
But Shizuo has to be sure. He's scowling as he brings Izaya's face close to his own, as though he could intimidate him. Close enough for a kiss, but Shizuo can't think about that with his concern. So he just holds Izaya close enough for the other boy to blush and squirm while he smells his breath.
Mint toothpaste as always. Not a single trace of smoke, which Shizuo knows is far too stubborn to get rid of that easy.
"No, you haven't. Your breath smells fine to me."
"Ahaha, perceptive as always Shizu-chan!" Izaya laughs. "It was just a little joke, no need to get so worked up."
Shizuo lets go of Izaya's face and tries to make his own less angry at Izaya.
"Fine, then what is it?"
"We live in Ikebukuro, is it really that surprising that I'd walk by some people smoking on my way to school today?" Izaya sighs, looking exasperated.
Shizuo supposes that's true. There's often the vague smell of smoke on students as a natural result of living in a city but…
"... but it's never been this strong on you before." Shizuo insists, feeling his brows only crease deeper despite Izaya's reassurance.
"I don't know what more I can tell you." Izaya drawls with a shrug and his usual lopsided grin. "So I had some smoke blown on me this morning, it's not a big deal."
Shizuo doesn't have any good way to respond to that. What Izaya said was perfectly reasonable but…
It doesn't feel like the truth.
Why does it always feel like Izaya is hiding something from me?
"Ah, I bet you're such a possessive beast that you can't stand a different smell on me. If you want we can go outside and you can blow your cigarette smoke on me. Or maybe you'd rather just rub your smell on me in the closet again? I'm afraid to say I draw the line at pissing on me like I'm the fire hydrant in your front yard but I think I've given you some pretty good options, ne?"
Despite the Izaya being strange and annoying, Shizuo wants to ask him to be his boyfriend, but he can't do that yet. Not when he's sure Izaya's hiding something. Something big if the twang in his left leg is anything to go by.
Detective Heiwajima is committed to getting to the bottom of whatever it is.
But first, he needs to get Izaya back into that closet and wrap him up. Not because of the smell thing, of course. Just because he still looks tired.