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.Chapter Six.
To say that Shizuo was outraged is a misstatement. He was beyond furious. It started when they were in school earlier, having their break on the rooftops as the usual while their small group had their stories to share. When it was Psyche's turn however, he suddenly turned into an emotional wreck and it worried the blond. It took some time to have him calmed down but eventually, they heard him out and learned that the fault was of Psyche's own older brother. Upon learning this, Shizuo seethed in an inner turmoil, his vision blinded by pure rage before stalking off in search of the culprit. The others had tried to stop him, but alas, their attempts went straight down into the flushed toilet.
He chased, threw things at the fleeting culprit and basically, tried to do whatever he could to hold the brunet back down. He was well aware of the damages he have done, and he knew his reputation in Ikebukuro will become more tainted than before. "Damn it, flea. Stay still!" He went around corners, dashing into the directions he had seen where the man had run off to until he halted to a quick stop at one point.
An alley? Izaya must be playing on him again if he had head in there, especially if the sky was already turning dark. But no way, he told himself, there was no way would he let Izaya escape and get away with the miserable things he have done. A growl was released in the back of his throat and before he even knew it, his feet dragged him in, every muscle fiber of his ached each time he took a step further. Within every turn he made, there was no one to be found. Few minutes passed, and he was still not there. Shizuo nearly concluded that he had been tricked that is until he saw the flea from the corner of his eyes, immediately gaining his attraction by the time he fully turned to that direction. So far, things were good now that he found him. Izaya did not seem to notice the blond's presence either.
Shizuo silently took few more step forwards, a garbage bin nearby lifted into the air with his one arm and with a steady aim, he tossed the object at his target. "IZAYA!" Unfortunately, he missed. Nearly a perfect aim but somehow, Izaya managed to dodge his attack. Angrily, his eyes flashed to where the man was, a bit astonished to see that Izaya could climb up the walls with speed and reached to the top of the building.
"You fucking bastard! Where do you think you are..." The blond started, taking whatever that was near him when a metal pipe connected to the wall was torn, ready to be used and thrown at his nemesis. He didn't care whether he was vandalising or not, even if it would get him locked up in jail but right now, nothing more mattered than his goal to destroy that one nuisance who've always messed with and ruined everyone's lives. But then, that was Izaya. A pest who won't stop ticking you off and annoy you for his own sick, twisted entertainment. It fueled the blond's engine even more as soon as Psyche turned up in his mind.
"Fucking flea, you really want to die, do ya?! Why don't you get your ass down from there and let me kill you till you're dead!"
"Did you chase me all the way to tell me that? Ah, I'm not surprised. Especially with that neanderthal brain of yours."
Eye twitched. What the hell did that flea mean by that? Sure, he was not one of the bright people but there was one thing that Shizuo had that made him up for it. His vigilance. Picking up from the tone that Izaya had used, Shizuo did not falter to notice how different that playful tone seemed to sound than all the previous ones.
"At least I don't have the sick mind who gets pleasure from ruining people's lives!"
"Shizuo."
That alone was enough to catch his attention. The blond froze, pausing on his actions as he heard his first initial being called out for the first time by his nemesis who often teased him. It was so out of character for him to suddenly call out his name like that, alongside with a rather grievous tone used. Somehow, Shizuo didn't like the thought of what would come next. If anything, this would be the first time that Izaya was being serious around him. Reluctantly, he let the metal pipe held in his hands clattered onto the ground, assuming that his nemesis was trying to bring up a decent conversation between them. Strangely enough, Shizuo appeared to be calm in the presence of his enemy for once.
"Try to answer this question briefly."
Silence.
"What would you do if you see your beloved one taken away by another?"
Night time had fallen, wind gushed from the northern side of the city as its peaceful ambiance began to dawn on the citizens from the night sky. One of the things he admired were how often the stars came into view whenever he walked his way back to his home to call for the night. It was always like this. After the usual days of marking his attendence at school, he would stay out for quite a while till the sight of night was seen. Whenever it rained however, Izaya would stay under a shelter and wait till the tears of the sky finally came to a stop and only then he began to leisurely take his time on walking back home.
Unfortunately, today was not one of those days.
The pace of his steps quickened, a turn being made here and there as the traffic noises were blocked out from his ears. By now, the only things that he could hear were the erratic sounds of his heavy panting accompanied by a loud shriek and another clash between an object and a wall. A smirk slowly crept its way towards the informant's lips. How unpredictable. It seems that the brute was actually serious if he bothered to continue his rampage in search of him for this long.
Did it had to do with something? Then it hit him that the reason behind it was most likely relating to the incident that happened last night. For some reason, a tingling sensation began to churn within his stomach at that simple thought of Psyche complaining to Shizuo. As much as he wouldn't like to admit, he knew that it was jealousy eating him alive from the very start. But then, is there ever a moment when Izaya was not jealous of Psyche for one? Perhaps.
A bellowed yell was suddenly heard, snapping the brunet's attention as he nearly collided into the wall. A wall? This could only mean one thing. A dead end. "Tch." His brows furrowed when the wall was merely few inches away from his face, his fist clenched in anger while few strings of curses were muttered. No, he was not angry that there was a wall preventing him from escape but rather, it was more like he grew angry at himself.
"IZAYA!"
And it just so happened to be in time when Izaya successfully dodged the garbage bin was thrown at him, and with the help of his parkour skills, he made a huge leap for and reached on building's edge, panting almost heavily as he tried to catch his breath. Yet a faint smirk crept in shortly afterwards, his eyes narrowed to the side. Huh, looks like he's on the losing side for once.
"Fucking flea, you really want to die, do ya?! Why don't you get your ass down from there and let me kill you till you're dead!" Izaya scoffed inwardly at the last statement. Now that he gave a thought about it, was it possible to die again when you're already dead?
"Did you chase me all the way to tell me that? Ah, I'm not surprised. Especially with that neanderthal brain of yours."
"At least I don't have the sick mind who gets pleasure from ruining people's lives!"
There was a question he needed to ask. He wanted to know what did Psyche mean to the blond, he wanted to know what made the blond drawn to him. Despite knowing all the reasons to why, he wanted to hear all those answers from the man himself, not from his silly intuition. Thus, that was when Izaya decided to be serious for quite a bit.
"Shizuo."
Izaya slightly turned, the smirk prior to the event vanished adnd replaced by a frown rarely seen as he held a gaze upon the renowned strongest man of Ikebukuro. He could see the hesitation in the other's face when he called him out by his name, even if his expectancy was rather low, Izaya was uncertain whether or not would he'd hear him out. However, it seems that the latter was chosen and it too surprised Izaya, sensing the already tranquil aura around the young man was something not expected at all. And there stood the pair, spending their time to observe the other in silence, each second that ticked felt like eternity when not one of them dared to break the contact.
"Try to answer this question briefly." However, the question spilled from his mouth went to another different kind of matter. "What would you do if you see your beloved one taken away by another?"
His question was met with silence. Placing a hand into the pockets of his leather pants, he watched as a typical nasty face was thrown at his way in response, already knowing what type of reply he'll receive just by looking at the other's face.
"What kind of question is that?"
"Just answer it." He casually replied, hiding his desperation as he prepared himself to jump off the fence and scramble away like expected, but the brute on the other hand wasn't helping.
"I don't see why I need to answer your question, flea. This is another mind trick game ya just planning again, isn't it?"
Ah, as hardheaded the protozoan could ever be. Such a waste of his precious time. If only he had- no, he should have not asked the brute that question at all. That would only leave him being suspicious which he suppose he already was being one since the start. Without bothering to answer his question, Izaya changed the course of his own direction, his back now facing the blond. Oh well. Looks like it was time to put the end of their another chase game. In a blink of an eye, he vanished from the blond's sight, leaving the poor baffled creature in the midst of the dark alley.
Seven years later...
It was a cold, chilly night. The wind from the cooled air conditioners swirled up in the apartment, moving to the north then to the west and so on till the procedure repeats, the temperature in each room ended up in few degrees celsius. "Say, Namie. Could you tell me your conception on humans and how you view the world? Such pawns they merely are. Humans certainly are interesting. Most claim to be different but in the end, they're as plainly the same as all the other beings. Do you know why?" A voice echoed through the darkness, the only lights glowing were from the enormous frames where a figure sat nearby. However, the face of the figure could not be seen as he had turned the swiveling chair to the window, a hand rested on its arm.
Namie sighed, taking the papers she had arranged earlier and placed them on another stack of files. "Why?" She questioned in a cold tone, not showing even the slightest hint of interest in whatever the informant had to say. Perhaps if she responded to her employer's rambling for only one time, she won't have to hear anymore nonsense that would do further damage to her brain.
"Ah, you finally answered me! I guess that did catch your interest. Now, to your question, my dear assistant. The reason why humans ended up all the same is because they always have these things they hid from other people. They don't want others to know what they have done or what they tend to do, in fear of having to face embarrassment and the consequences that they know they'll have to accept. Isn't it quite shameful?"
"You speak as if you have nothing to hide."
Now that was enough to plague the informant's mind with unwanted memories. Flashbacks occurring in the back of his mind but it was instantly put off, a low chuckle being released throughout the chamber before it turned into a hysterical laugh. He, Orihara Izaya, had something to hide? That was laughable! "Do not doubt me so easily, Namie-san. I don't fear embarrassment and I certainly do not fear consequences. They matter no more to me now. Why else did you think I take this job? And obtain the rank of the best informant to the underground businesses? Because I have absolutely nothing to hide, I don't have to be afraid of having my weaknesses exposed."
"Are you saying that you do have a weakness?"
"Every single thing that's exists has a weakness. Even a god can succumb and falter so easily to nothing more than a simple creature who once ruled if his weak spot has been found."
"So, you do have a weakness. Then you are wrong about having nothing to hide, considering how indirectly you have answered me."
"Hm. Vigilant, aren't we?" Another chuckle was released, his chair spun around to start an eye contact with his assistant, expecting for a debate to break out. Nevertheless, Namie responded with a stoic stare, her arms crossed and pushed up to her chest whilst steadily maintaining the heated eye contact. "Of course. I learned from the best, after all."
"You learned well." Izaya was the first to break the eye contact, turning away as if nothing had ever happened, lips curled up into nothing more than a smirk. "As an award, would you like to know my weakness in return then?"
"... Huh?"
"Would you like to know the weakness of Orihara Izaya?"
[Track 6]
Orihara Izaya here again. Huh, it's been quite a while since I did another recording. But I guess I just needed time to recollect my thoughts and record them when I need to release it. Besides, there weren't much things to do here. The only things they gave me were food, drinks, and this shitload of recording stuffs in which I have no idea what should I do with it. I think they were telling me to do something. But anyway, back to the story. Things simply hadn't been the same anymore since then. The remaining light of my life disappeared like it was never there at all, and ended up being hallucinations that left behind non-existent memories.
I guess that while I was still growing, these complications and hardships that I faced through my life managed to help me endure torture more at ease. Hm, I wonder how they are all doing by now. Especially that stupid protozoan. It's been a week since I've last seen him. Probably. I don't know. I'm tired enough to lost track of the days that I've been kept here. Feels like I've been held captive. Or maybe, I already am considered captured.
SFX: Chuckle.
Guess they're not searching for me at all, huh. Not even Psyche? Oh well, I suppose this is where the most interesting part finally take place. Where Orihara Izaya- Orihara Izaya can't predict things anymore. Ahaha... Ahahaha- ahahahaha! Humans are just so interesting, this is why I love you all! Only I can fill the gaps in your hole, only I can show you how much you're wanted in this world! Only I can show how much you're loved! Ahahahaha!
SFX: Laughter dies into silence.
And that's why humans should love me in return. When no one loves you anymore, who else do you have to love you? Me, of course. That way, you don't have to feel lonely. In fact, don't ever think you're lonely. Therefore, my dear humans, please use my love wisely, will you? Promise me that you'll love me just like how I love you. That's a promise.
... Click!
[End of sixth track.]
Author's note: Hello! I am back, my dear friends. ( _ _ ) Anyway, now that my exams officially ended, I'd like to apologize for the awfully late delay on my updates but that's because I have so many schoolwork and exams to catch up to. Besides that, I got the second position in my class for having the highest exams grades, I also got the first position for having the highest grade in overall of tenth grade for English! Sadly, I didn't get to receive the awarding because the time of the event was coincidental with my exam. orz
Once again, sorry for the grammar mistakes, I tend to write things hastily when it comes to long stories. I don't even know why, AHA. Okay, so this chapter somehow ends the era of their high school days. Now we're moving onto the era when our babies are now fully grown ups.
Thank you for the reviews and the wait! (: