This one is nice and long to make up for the last one being so short and the fact that I might not update Monday. It will definitely be Thursday, but Monday is...most definitely out.
Ikebukuro. Overrun by more gangs then your normal city could handle. Covered in more gossip then humanly possible, but through it all it some people are considered to be the stars of the cityscape. The Dollars. Izaya Orihara. Celty Sturluson. Yours truly.
Half the city must have showed up to see me duke it out with these punks. Seems that they were part of some sort of prominent gang though. Doesn't matter to me or Tom. You pay or I'll make you pay, that's how it goes down around here. I hate violence, but some people just set me in a rage.
I swing the stop sign knocking at least three of the gang members off of their feet. They slam into some of their buddies taking more people out. I slam my fist into another guy's face as he runs at me from behind and hurl someone else up into a tree.
According to Tom only one or two of these guys actually owes money, but the whole gang showed up out of loyalty. How annoying.
In the middle of the melee I realize my phone is ringing. After elbowing another man in the gut, knocking him to the ground, I take it out and answer it.
"Whatever you want, spit it out-STAT. I'm in the middle of something right now," I growl, hurling the stop sign into a group of men who were just getting to their feet. I toss another guy after it just to make the message clear.
"Shizuo, it's me, Shinra." Great. I wonder what he has to say. Inviting me to lunch maybe?
Someone swings a pole at my head. Grabbing it inches from my face I hurl him across the street.
"I need you to come down here right now!"
"Like I said, I really can't. I'm kind of in the middle of something," I snap, while simultaneously knocking another member out cold.
"I know, I know, but it's urgent," Shinra pleads.
I laugh. "Urgent? Urgent?! This fight is 'urgent,' my job is 'urgent' if you don't define that word real quick I'll make you eat it!" I threaten.
"Izaya wants you. Please, please come," Shinra begs. That's what qualifies as urgent these days, huh? I'm working here and I'm expected to drop everything to run to my sworn enemy's side?
"You can tell him I'm busy."
I pick up a police barricade and bulldoze half the gang against a brick wall. I hold them there and pull up another sign, to whack anyone who comes within striking distance. I hold the phone against my cheek with my shoulder. A frustrated silence punctured by Shinra's sharp, angry breaths is all that comes over the line until a piercing scream starts. I lean against the police barricade so I have a free hand to hold the phone away from my face with.
"What the heck is that supposed to be?!" I scream into the phone angrily. The hot surge adds to my temper and my next victim gets thrown halfway down the street.
"Now you see why you need to come right now?" Shinra asks smugly.
I grit my teeth against the noise and slowly begin to decipher it. Mostly its nonsense but there's one reoccurring phrase that keeps repeating over and over again. The words suddenly hit me like a sign post: help me, help me, help me, save me, save me, save me, guy that throws stuff.
Well I guess my name managed to slip his mind along with everything else.
"Fine," I consent. "As soon as I break these guys up I'll come."
"Thank you, Shizuo. You can't ima-"
"But be prepared for when I do, if I don't work out all my anger on these punks you're next," I threaten, cutting his grateful speech short.
I can hear him gulp on the other end of the line and finally he manages a nervous laugh. "See you then, I guess, Shizuo."
The line goes dead and I flip my phone shut. Stuffing it into my pocket and turn and face the remainder of the gang.
"Just pay up already," I growl, holding a vending machine threateningly above my head.
A wallet lands at my feet. I pick it up and toss it over to Tom, who counts the money. After making sure it's all there he nods to me and I drop the vending machine inches away from them.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Tom says as he walks away.
I fall into step next to him and a few blocks later ask if I can take the rest of the day off. Tom gives me a strange look but consents, since he doesn't actually have any pressing business. He tells me to be careful and I say something to the same affect and we part ways. Him to his office and me to Shinra's place to see what sort of terror awaits me.
Shinra opens the door almost as soon as my hand touches it. His face is one part delighted at my swift arrival and nine parts apprehensive, waiting for me to punch his face in. Instead I simply walk inside and he shuts the door behind me.
"I-ah-actually have some business to attend to, but Celty can help you out. Celty, my love, Shizuo's here," he calls. As soon as she appears he grabs his bag and makes it out of the door so quickly it almost shuts on his lab coat.
[I'm glad you are here, Shizuo.]
I don't answer and she leads me to the room Izaya's in. He looks both worse and better than before since he's not struggling to breath and his face doesn't look red and sweaty like it did before, but there are straps holding him down at his wrists, ankles, and across his stomach.
[Shinra had to restrain him for his own good.] Celty explains. [He's almost on his last dose of knockout gas, Shinra doesn't think it will be good for him if we use anymore. He thought maybe you would be able to calm him]
"And why would he think that?" I ask caustically. After all, Izaya and I are sworn enemies.
[He didn't start freaking out until he came here. Shinra thinks this place must remind him of the bad memories that led to his amnesia and since he seemed content at your house you'll have a soothing effect on him.]
"Because there's nothing like seeing you're sworn enemy to sooth the nerves," I quip.
If Celty had eyes she probably would have rolled them. She shoves her PDA in my face a little more forcefully then necessary. [Just do it.]
I suddenly notice Celty is still wearing the yellow cat-eared helmet she wears on the streets of Ikebukuro.
"What's with the helmet?" I ask.
[He won't remember me. Shinra doesn't want my appearance to send him over the edge.]
"It is a little shocking," I admit.
[I'll be in the other room. Call if you need me.]
She turns and walks out of the room, softly shutting the door behind her. In some ways Celty is a kinder, gentler person then her appearance let's on.
I stand near the door for a long time. For some reason I'm nervous to approach the bed were Izaya is lying. Maybe I just don't want to see my sworn enemy in his weakened state. The thought of him being vulnerable and weak scares me more then I'd care to admit. Finally I psych myself up enough to cross the room. As soon as I lean over the bed his eyes snap open revealing panicked, bloodshot orbs.
"Where are they?" he hisses in a hoarse voice. "What do they want?" His eyes land on me. "Please…I'm scared." Tears well up in his bloodshot eyes.
I pull away in shock. This isn't Izaya. This isn't happening. I don't even know what this is anymore. I back away until I run into the door. There's a strange ringing in my ears. I can't ever remember feeling like this before. I want it to stop.
I sprint out the door and run straight into in Celty. We both tumble to the ground. Now that I'm out of the room I'm feeling loads better already. The dulluhan gets to her feet and offers me a hand. I take it and she pulls me to my feet.
[Shocking?] the PDA reads. I nod. [I understand. He is not the man we know as Izaya anymore.] I nod again numbly. [Lunch?] I shake my head. My appetite left around the same time as my ability to speak.
For the first time I'm starting to doubt that Izaya will get better. In fact, I'm certain he'll never recover and whatever happens to him he'll never be able to act like a sane human being again. How did this happen?
[Comfort him.] Celty's next message reads. I realize Izaya is screaming again, but the sound is very faint through the door. It must be partially soundproof.
"I don't think I can," I admit, lighting up a cigarette with a shaking hand.
[You can. You're the most powerful man in Ikebukuro.]
"If Shinra can put up with that and still be sane I think he deserves the title more than I do," I say.
Celty shakes her helmet back and forth. [I'll go in there too, with you. It won't be as bad for you then, but I'm warning you he's scared to death of me.]
"Thanks," I mutter sarcastically and before I can protest she's shoved me through the door again. She drags me next to the bed and stands there, waiting for me to do something. I don't know what she's waiting for though. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what she even expects me to do. I'm going to be more of an emotional wreck then Izaya if this keeps up.
I clap my hand over his mouth. "Just shut up would you?" I snap as the noise immediately cuts off. "That's better."
Izaya looks back and forth between Celty and me.
"You'll be fine, so stop screaming. It's putting me on edge. Shinra and Celty are here to help you. I don't know what you've been through, and quite honestly, I don't care so let's just put the whole thing behind us, huh?"
Izaya stares back at me with wide eyes.
"I-uh-if it helps…I'll never…it'll never happen to you again. You don't have to worry about them anymore because you have me now. Not to brag or anything, but I'm the best bodyguard Ikebukuro can offer," I say becoming more sure of myself as I go on. "Now if you promise not to scream I'll take my hand off your mouth."
He nods and I pull my hand away experimentally. He doesn't make a sound and my hand drops to my side.
"R-really?" he asks in a quivering voice. "N-no matter what…you'll protect me? Fro-m-m them?"
"Yes," I promise. "No one is going to hurt you anymore."
His eyes calm down a little more. "Who is that?" he asks, cutting his eyes over to Celty then quickly looking away.
"Celty Sturluson. She's a good friend and a great courier and she's not going to hurt you," I say. Which is pretty deep for me.
"She….is scary. Have her take off that helmet, please?"
Yeah, if you think she's scary now imagine her headless, with black smoke rising out of her neck, and scythe in her hand, I think of saying, but bite it back.
I realize Celty has made the first move, holding her PDA in Izaya's face. His eyes move back and forth as he reads what she's written then he lays back. The longer we sit here the calmer he seems to get.
I notice Izaya's hand is straining against the strap holding it against the bed. I put my hand on top of it and his fingers wrap around mine in an iron grip. I look at his face in surprise. His eyes are closing and a calm expression is spreading across his face.
[Good job. I knew you could do it.] Celty has a certain 'I told you so' look about her. I glare at her and move to walk away, but Izaya's slim hand tightens around mine in a stronger grip.
[I'm going to get some ootoro and see if he'll eat. Stay here.] I nod. Under his new baggy sweatshirt Izaya is slimmer then is probably healthy. The informant's favorite food is probably the best thing to tempt his appetite with. The fact that it's fatty won't hurt either.
I wait for Celty because there's nothing else I can do with Izaya clinging to my hand like a Pit Bull. Seriously, he has a good death grip when he wants. Although, I suppose if you fight with a knife you'd need to hold onto it and not let go. Otherwise, you might killed with your own weapon.
"So…Izaya…how are you feeling?" I ask in a rather lame attempt to break up the silence.
"Good. How're you?" he mutters without opening his eyes.
"Well…been better," I decide.
"Huh," is all he says. He reminds me of a cat lying in a pool of sunshine. Perfectly content. However the loss of circulation to my hand proves otherwise. He's holding on so tightly his fingers are turning white.
"Does your dog have a name?" I ask, thinking of the dog I left back at my apartment.
"Sic'em killer of bad guys," he replies with a hint of humor. You can't even shorten that kind of name into an acronym. "You may be wondering why I named him that," Izaya continues, slitting his eyes open and sliding them as far as they go so he can see me better. "It's be-" he starts a coughing fit before he can finish. Doubling over as hacking coughs rack his body. The restraints keep him from moving much and I can't tell if that's a good thing or not.
Finally the coughing subsides and something smacks me in the back of the head. I turn around to see Celty's retreating figure and a bottle of medicine on the floor at my feet. I pick it up and read the label.
"Looks like this is supposed to help," I mutter as I try to measure out the right dose with only one hand.
"What's that?" Izaya asks, worry creeping into his voice as he strains to see what I'm doing. Too busy balancing the cup of medicine on the edge of his bed to answer I simply choose to ignore him. "I said what's that?" he repeats an edge in his voice.
"Cough medicine for that cough," I answer. "Now let go of my hand so I can help you take it."
It takes a while but I finally pry my fingers out of his. Then there's the problem of forcing the stuff down his throat. It smells really good but Izaya is convinced it's some sort of poison or drug. Even after I hold the bottle in front of his face for fifteen minutes letting him read every character at least twenty times over. That or his reading skills have deteriorated.
Eventually I get fed up and just punch him in the gut. He tries to double over as the breath is forced out of his lungs and I take that opportunity to throw the stuff down his throat. Once it's in he tries to spit it out and I have to cover his mouth and nose to the point where I was sure he was going to pass out before he swallows it.
"That was cruel," he manages between gasps of air. His lips are tinted blue.
"It was for your own good," I say.
He laughs bitterly. "Sure it was."
"Well I guess we'll see if you cough again."
After that's it's a stare down. Izaya tries to come up with a convincing cough when a natural one doesn't rear its head, but I catch him. It was a pathetic attempt anyway.
I sigh in relief and collapse against Izaya's bed when Celty reappears holding a plate of ootoro.
Izaya's eyes light up, but only until we offer it to him.
"I won't eat it," he declares turning his head as far to the side as he can.
Celty types something on her PDA but she has to hand it to me because he won't turn his head to read it.
"Just eat some," I say. I'm tired of dealing with an Izaya that won't take his medicine and eat his favorite food.
Celty tries to push some into his mouth, but he clenches his lips together.
"Leave this to me, Celty," I snap taking the food. Izaya's eyes snap open. He knows what is coming. This isn't really a permanent solution, but it's all I can think to do. I give him another good one in the stomach. Celty seems a little taken aback. The informant has the same reaction as before and we go over the same drill. Holding Izaya's mouth and nose closed until he's forced to swallow the food or risk passing out. I get the feeling he wants to remain conscious more than anything else.
[I don't think that's a permanent solution.] Celty informs me with a hard look. I'm not sure how motorcycle helmets give hard looks, but she manages.
"It worked," I say a little sassily.
[Do you want to open up his stomach wound?]
I've actually forgotten about that. I glance at Izaya's shirt, waiting for it to develop a red stain.
[Exactly.] I shrug sheepishly and she types more down on her PDA. [Now we try me way.]
"Typo," I say, pointing at the screen.
Celty hastily jerks the PDA away, types something furiously, and shoves it back in my face.
[Shut up.]
"Work on your comebacks," I say. "Not everyone is as dull as Shinra." Or as OCD. Celty gives me a dulluhan death stare and starts 'her way' of force feeding.
Actually she pleads with him for a while first, then threatens for a while, then, finally, just gets on with it.
Putting her hand on one side of his face she jams her finger into his mouth and pries his teeth open. When they're open wide enough she pops the food in and covers his mouth. He can still breathe though so I'm not sure how she's going to get him to swallow it. We could wait here all day. She starts running her finger down his throat until his finally swallows.
"How'd you learn that?" I ask, slightly impressed.
[Shinra had to do it to a cat once.] I nod. I can faintly remember the same procedure being performed on a cat in my childhood. Celty types something out. [This isn't working. I think we're going to have to have Shinra put in a feeding tube.]
"Ouch," I mutter, rubbing my own throat.
[Do you have enough time to feed him the rest of that bite by bite?] Celty demands gesturing towards the still full plate. Almost an hour of struggling has yielded poor results. The thirty plus bites still left on the plate seems to mock us.
"Not really," I admit. "But there has to be another way?"
[You think of one and Shinra will take out the feeding tube. For now, we can't afford to let him starve to death.]
I slump my shoulders in defeat.
"What are you talking about?" Izaya demands, obviously feeling safe in opening his mouth again.
"A potential threat," I answer.
His eyes widen in horror.
"If you don't eat the nice doctor is going to shove a feeding tube down your throat."
"No…no! I won't let'im! He won't touch me! It's not happening! He'll never get it down my throat."
Celty shoved her PDA in my face. [Idiot.] I wave it away.
"But if you eat he won't have to," I continue.
"It's poisoned isn't it," Izaya says flatly. "I know it is, you slipped up. I have you, now I'll never eat it!"
I bury my face in my hands trying to get rid of the impending head ache. Celty slaps the top of my head. It in't very hard, but it holds reproach.
After that Celty and I both wait in the kitchen for Shinra to get back. The ootoro sits on the table between us. If I don't know better I would say it's mocking us. Celty's PDA sits between us as well because, honestly, neither of us really feel like talking. I light up a cigarette and let my muscles relax as the soothing smoke enters my lungs.
Shinra opens the door some time later to see us sitting there like that.
"I see," he says even though I remain silent and Celty doesn't make a move to retrieve her PDA. His eyes land on the nearly untouched ootoro and dart to the computer screen where our most recent search 'methods of force-feeding' is still open in the browser. "I see," he repeats, sitting down as well. "Little success with forcing some food down his throat." It's phrased as a question, but only comes out as an observation. No one bothers to reply, letting the fatty tuna speak for itself "I had a feeling it would come to this."
Celty and I exchange glances.
"But I have a solution! I was talking to Simon-" I bang my head against the table without even bothering to listen to the rest, but I hear it anyway. "And he suggested that I try this." He pulls some sushi out of his bag smiling.
[Idiot.] Celty types after eyeing the sushi.
"Trust me, this will definitely work. Take my professional opinion on it."
[You do it then.]
Shinra leaves the room confident in his solution only to come back sometimes later with his glasses askew and no good news.
[Feeding tube?] Celty suggests. Shinra nods listlessly. [You didn't really think that was going to work did you?] Celty asks in an attempt to cheer him up. The underground doctor shrugs.
"I think we have a lot of work ahead of us."
I don't think I've ever heard a more true statement in my entire life.
Me: Izaya passing up fatty tuna? That's something I thought I'd never see.
Shizuo *shudders*: me either.
Izaya: it's all very well and good for you! I didn't get the rest of that ootoro, the injustice.
Me: what did we do with that?
Shizuo: I think I fed it to Izaya's puppy. What was his name again..?
Izaya: Shut up, Shizu-chan!
Me: follow, review, or just read it! And thanks to all the great people who have already followed, read, and reviewed it you guys are the reason I got past chapter 2!
Izaya: Maybe if we get enough good reviews that'll convince those evil conspirators to give me the ootoro I deserve. *puppy eyes* Those reviews do put her in a good mood.