.
Chapter nine
Eight track I
A trip to a certain underground doctor's apartment was made that very night. With a luggage packed in hand, Izaya remained in front of Shinra's apartment, one end of his lips curled down in dissatisfaction as he stared blankly ahead. It had been nearly an hour since he arrived at his destination; nearly an hour had he stood in front of the door. Yet, no one answered it even up to now. Much to the raven's dismay.
It took a longer time than the usual and it was nearly eleven o'clock in the evening. More beads of sweat rolled down against his forehead, but due to exhaustion, they weren't wept away and the sweat glued its scent onto his skin afterwards.
"I'm going to need a bath after this..." He sighed, now glaring at the the door while the thought of having a bath sounded relishing at this very moment. After all, now that he is wanted for a ten million yen reward, he had to be careful. A tad more careful than the usual. The hunt has now begun, Izaya was certain of this. There was also a possibility that some of his clients may try to lure him out and use this as an advantage. Because it's not until a little while later after the news, few of his phones started to ring all simultaneously. He picked some of them up, few asked if they could come over and others that has yet to meet him wanted them to talk in person. Of course, Izaya saw through their little antics.
It was because of that, he cut all contacts with his clients, unplugged his computer and dismissed Namie. He decided to take a small vacation; a place to subside for a little while till the commotion calms down. And that was how Izaya ended up at the doorstep with a luggage and in his pocket a phone he rarely used.
DING-DONG!
He began to tap his own foot against the floor impatiently, its clicking rhythm signified of one's frustration and eagerness. Two minutes has passed, and there was still no answer. Unfortunately, even the great Orihara had his limits as the occasional doorbell rings eventually turned into an endless chime of bells. The chimes continuously rang from inside as Izaya kept pressing the button, annoyance seen on his face. Then it was no longer than that when he heard a loud THONK!, sounds of feet shuffling.
"Yes, yes, I'm coming–—" BAM! "Ittai!"
Shinra. How despicable. After waiting for what seemed like a very long time, the barrier finally creaked open.
"Celty, my love! You finally..."
The informant blinked when Shinra nearly had his arms around him, an amused look seen on his face. Keyword, nearly. Shinra managed to stop himself before crossing the border right after he opened the door, his mouth hung agape with a flabbergasted expression. By then, the atmosphere became drenched in silence and awkwardness. Of course, the atmosphere was shattered when the underground doctor soon came out of his small trance.
"I-Izaya?!"
Just when Shinra thought it was his Celty has come back home.
"The one and only." Izaya said bemusedly.
"You! What time is it?" Shinra stumbled backwards, perhaps taking a look at the time when he tossed a glance elsewhere. "And th-this late?!"
"Um, you shouldn't be here..." Izaya quirked an eyebrow at this. He watched as his... friend started to fidget around with fingers, the words of dejection slowly reaching out to him. Why was Shinra even surprised in the first place? Does it have to do with the fact that it was rare for the informant to visit him? Nevertheless, he proceeded to push the matter. "Why not?"
"Uh, you see." Shinra slowly started. "It's..." There goes the fumbling and incoherent words being muttered. Izaya waved a hand around at this, a smile worn as he went forward by a single step, his luggage slightly rolling to the side. "Gee, Shinra. I came here a long way to ask you a favor, you know." He bluntly said, the statement seeming to have caught the doctor's eye.
"A favor?"
A nod was given as the informant smiled. It was a small favor really. In order to have a vacation, he needed a place, right? "Have you watched the news?"
"Oh, you mean the one where they said that you massacred the tourists?" The doctor leaned against the door, a thought given for a short second. "Yeah, well. I didn't know you were capable of such thing."
"Ouch, Shinra. Did you really think I did it?"
"Aha, I never said that..." Shinra laughed sheepishly. "How did it happen anyway?"
"I'm not going to tell you unless you let me in." Izaya crossed his arms, a smug smirk seen on his face.
"Then no." Shinra responded instantly, few steps taken back to slam the door at his face
Creak— slam!
... If that didn't well. So, he wants to play it the rough way, eh? Fine, even he can be more than persistent at times. If that was the case, then the challenge might as well be accepted. Izaya turned, a smirk gracefully depicted his features as he took a step forward. "Well then, I guess that if I wind up dead, Celty won't have anymore jobs."
"That's perfectly fine for me!" A muffled reply came from the other side.
"I guess that Celty will be very sad when I die by then." Izaya feigned hurt in his tone.
"Nu-uh, she said she's always happy when she's with me! More importantly, why would she be sad over you?!"
Izaya exasperatedly sighed. "And if I die, looks like she has to find another job..."
"Better than working for you!"
And the argument goes on.
But the argument went on for longer than a minute. Slightly irritated, Izaya started to think more throughly. At this rate, he would have no choice but to find a safe place somewhere else. And that would only mean more trouble since he'll have to set a foot out into the streets again. Now, how to get a doctor tamed... Izaya had his reasons to choose this place out of all places. But it wasn't a second later when an idea struck him. "... I guess I should tell Celty where's her head then before I die."
"And if Celty was to choose another job, I wonder what would happen if people find out what's under helmet..."
"More importantly, what if Celty ended up being stuck with a daily regular basis of serving lots and lots of people?"
"But wait, if she got her head back, wouldn't that mean her mission is complete?"
"I guess we'll have to see when I die. Sigh, too bad I won't be there to see it."
Silence; there goes the sound of victory. It was no longer than that when the door creaked open.
"You may come in."
Izaya smiled triumphantly upon hearing this. Checkmate! A big grin broke out from his lips shortly afterwards as he waltzed into the room, his hands swayed around in the brisk of satisfactory. His small dance of victory was cut short however when he began to take note of his surroundings. Everything was the same, all was but he felt there was something amiss. Something that wasn't even human nor human-made to begin with.
"Where's Celty?"
The informant turned to the latter, a sound of closing door reached to his ears. "She went to do something." He heard Shinra muttered followed by a miniature sigh. "It's not fair that my Celty gets dragged away whenever I need her..."
"Which is almost all of the time." Izaya joked to which Shinra ignored.
...
Outside in the cold weather bestowing upon Ikebukuro, Shizuo had seated himself on one of the benches in the West Ikebukuro Park. It was late, nearly midnight but Shizuo didn't care. He needed to let out his frustration by venting.
"So, I just thought they needed a bit of beating up. They started it anyway, so they shouldn't complain at all. Tch, rascals." Shizuo spewed the words out with brows ticked off. "But anyway, since I don't have anywhere to live for now, here I am. Looks like I'll sleep a night out here before searching a place to stay for a little while."
Next to him seated his companion who could not talk and used a PDA as a way to communicate. The two were good friends, which most would find quite uncanny. After all, this friend of his wasn't nor even close to being a human as he is. Celty had no head, and for that, her muteness was self-explanatory.
Once in a while, Shizuo would ask her something that sounded similar to 'what do you look for in a lover?'— and every time he questioned her, he wouldn't give her a chance to answer it afterwards. Well, mostly because Celty chose not to. She had her ways to become friends with the beast but because of her attentive ways of listening to his rants, Shizuo liked her for that.
A smoke was breathed in after he took another drag of his cigarette, blowing out the fumes into the air as the blond resorted to silence. The atmosphere became too quiet but he enjoyed it nevertheless.
It nearly made him forgot that his apartment got wrecked by troublesome idiots.
Better savor it before the flea comes around, his mouth twitched at the sudden thought. That Izaya. The bastard's probably behind this too, he growled inwardly. He has to be, otherwise how else had they found out where he lived? Asides from that, Izaya had always been a troublemaker ever since they met at Raijin High School several years ago.. He never stopped pissing Shizuo off, there was not even one single moment where the pest did not pester him. Not to mention he had hurt his own brother— his long time crush for a couple of times before.
Simply unforgivable.
Then his thoughts of the red-eyed brunet slowly trailed to a certain pink-eyed raven. Ah, how the thought of him had calmed him down. Unlike Izaya, Psyche was tolerable. And he was cute too. Definitely not as evil as that reminded him, it sure has been long since he talked to him, right? But granted it started after he was rejected back then; the day when he confronted the raven only to end up being declined. For what reasons— Shizuo did not know. And it would be a lie if he says that the rejection did not faze him as much anymore.
His train of thoughts however shortly was cut off when a movement from the corner caught his eye, his head shot up to see Celty standing before him.
"Celty?" He blinked. "Something wrong?"
'You said you needed a place to live in for a while, right?' She simply typed into the screen, showing it to Shizuo soon after.
"... Yeah." The reply sounded unsure.
'Why not stay with us?'
The next message honestly surprised him when he read it, his eyes widened in slight disbelief as he looked at the other bewildered. "... Don't you have to ask Shinra about this first?" Besides, he feared that his presence would only be a burden to them. He didn't want that.
'I'm sure he won't mind.' The black rider tried to re-assure him.
"You don't have to trouble yourself, ya know. If you're worried about me getting hurt out here, don't worry about it." He protested, one leg crossed the other as he tossed his head back.
'That doesn't stop me from worrying. Come?'
Yet, Celty continued to be persistent. Something that caused Shizuo to think twice. Perhaps he could accept the invitation this time. Just this once. Then again, Celty already did a lot for him, didn't she?
"... All right. I owe you this one." He solemnly nodded, silently making a vow that one day, he'll repay Celty for her kindness.
...
While Shinra headed towards the kitchen, Izaya pranced his way to the couch, plumping against the soft cushion before asking the doctor loudly, "So, what did you think of the news when you first heard it, by the way?"
"I thought I already answered that."
"No, I asked if you only heard of it."
"In that case... Hm, I wonder where should I begin?" Tilting his head to the side, his eyes followed the doctor's trail back into the room, his ears perked in curiosity when the next words were said. "It's hard to explain. But let's leave it at this, I know you quite more well than the others."
...
...
... He knows him more well than others? The information broker laughed at this, was he for real? Did Shinra take him for a joke? If that isn't funny. "Are you sure about that?" He gave a snark remark.
How boastful. Who knew that the doctor would stoop this low?
"Well, maybe not as much as Psyche. But I basically spent more than five years of hell in school with you."
"Was that a compliment?" Ah, how much he'd like to point out that he was wrong about Psyche.
"To be honest, I didn't really believe the news. I found too many loopholes in the story. Besides, while you are someone capable of... killing people, I don't think you'll ever kill a person. By direct contact, of course."
"Are you saying that I killed a person before?" His eyes narrowed.
"Maybe." Izaya hated the innocent smile that was forming on Shinra's face.
"But you see, the thing is— you're not entirely a bad person. You're definitely not a good guy either. You're close with people but at the same time, you also put yourself in a distance from them. How do I say this? You're somewhere along the line if I have to butcher up the summary."
The raven blinked at this, his gaze still kept on the man standing proudly before him.
For some reason... What the doctor said really does described him at a point, now that he thought about it. A man whom is neither too close nor too far. "... I guess you're right." He hummed to himself.
"So, were you really there? I mean the crime scene place. Why were you there anyway?" Shinra strolled over to sit at the couch on the opposing side, facing the informant
"Long story short, I..." But Izaya never got to finish his sentence. His words soon trailed off when they heard the door opened, capturing both the ravens' attention as a result. For a minute, everything seemed to have froze when a familiar face had entered the room. A face he knew all too well was contorted in surprise.
"And this is why I didn't want you to come in earlier, Izaya..." Shinra smiled nervously, looking back at Izaya as he scratched at his cheek.
What a pleasant surprise, he'll have to say.
There stood at the opening of the doorway was the man whose hair was bleached blond, a bartender suit being worn like any other usual day. Heiwajima Shizuo. He was the person who always tried to toss random things at him whenever he sees the chance.
He also happened to be the very same man who was gaping at him by now, a vein on his forehead began to twitch when his eyes fell onto him. And for that moment, the peaceful and serene atmosphere turned into an awkward silent one.
The usual intense eye contact was shared in between them as they quietly observed each other from where they stood. Their wary eyes watched each and every single of their moves and expression on their face. And so seconds passed, and they spent their time staring at each other. Although it was more like a glare for one of them.
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
Finally, the silence broken once Shizuo bellowed, a glare thrown at the informant.
"More like what are you doing here?" The brunet glared back.
Celty emerged from Shizuo's back shortly afterwards, a tilt of her head given as soon as she saw Izaya. Swiftly, a PDA was taken out for the headless rider to type in, coming closer towards the latter to show the message.
'Why are you here?' Izaya read the text.
"Shinra, before I beat you to a pulp, you better explain why the fucking flea is here." Looking away from the screen, he watched with amusement as the blond loomed over the doctor from behind the couch, and of course, Shinra would cower as the usual.
"Now, now, Shizu-chan~" The nickname caused Shizuo to snap his attention back at him, "I just came here to see Shinra. Nothing wrong with that, right?" He smiled, albeit he lied a bit about the part on why he was visiting the apartment. There was more to why he's paying a visit, after all. "Besides." Izaya sighed, slowly getting up to his feet. "I was just about to tell the story about how I became wanted for a ten million yen reward before you rudely interrupted me, ne."
Celty softly tapped at his shoulders, making him look as the screen was introduced to him once more. 'Wanted... for a ten million yen?'
"Did you watch the news?"
Celty shook her head. After all, she had been out. 'When did this happen?' She typed back in.
"Just recently."
'At least you're not under the broad daylight now.' The helmet was taken off, her shadows suddenly spook off, probably trying to lighten him up by intending to have what she said as a joke.
"Ah, that's right. You faced the similar thing last time, right?" The informant smiled
'Yes...' The PDA was pulled back again, the black rider pondering for few good seconds before carefully typing out her text. 'How did this happen?'
"It's a long story, but it sure did get me wind up in the news channel. And the next thing you know— who knew that they'll have a suspected person wanted for ten million?"
"Hah, the flea's wanted? For ten million?" Shizuo who oddly kept quiet the whole time finally said something that took away Izaya's attention once he gave a look. There was something written on the blond's face. Amusement, perhaps? He couldn't really tell what but for some reason, he... found the look admirable.
"What can I say? I am just that charming. I'm pretty sure that everyone's after my body now." He grinned to which Shizuo rolled his eyes. "You wish."
And fully knowing how well Izaya tended to be with his witty remarks, Celty quickly intervened before things could get out of hand, 'You haven't answered my question.'
A smile appeared on the brunet's face this time; and as soon as they saw this, they know it didn't mean anything good. Everyone knows that a smiling Izaya means bad news.
"Five hundred bucks." He promptly said, showing all five fingers.
"... You have got to be kidding me."
"It's not everyday I talk about myself." He grinned, but right after he said that, he felt an impact lightly hit against his chest before falling onto his lap, making him look. And there it was, five hundred bucks or as so the amount looked like.
'Just get onto the story.' Celty texted, irritation visibly shown through her body movement.
"Patience..." A chuckle escaped the brunet's lips. "I was just joking about the five hundred bucks, by the way." The five hundred bucks was tossed back at the headless rider who had caught it with ease.
"I got framed."
"Framed?" It was Shinra's turn to ask. "... How exactly?"
"It all started with a call. Someone on the phone called me and when I picked it up, I found the voice strangely familiar. But sadly, I couldn't tell who it was. And then—"
"Can't you just find out who's the caller from the number itself? That's your job, right?"
"Shizu-chan, don't rudely interrupt people when they're speaking. And you're far from close, I'm someone who have to find out things. Then for a living, I sell it to someone who finds it useful."
"Pretty shitty job."
"At least, my shitty job can't get me fired and send me around the world to find jobs ."
A vein twitched at the blond's forehead when he heard. But as much as he'd like to throw a can at the prudent face, he can't deny what he said either. "You–"
'Continue your story please.' Celty cut in once more, practically blocking Shizuo out of his sight by shoving the screen into Izaya's face. This caused the raven to slip back a little, adjusting his vision to the screen's brightness before he could read.
"They asked if I was Orihara Izaya."
"Then?"
Having yet to answer, he turned to sit on the couch once more, aware of the cautious eyes that are watching him with wary. "Afterwards, they told me to meet them at the Sunshine 60 Observatory." He waved a single hand. "But the only problem was that he didn't exactly said which floor should I take. I tried to ask him but he already hung up. So, I ended up taking the top floor in the end. You could guess what happened next. It was a set-up and before I even knew it, the police had me surrounded."
Obviously, the explanation seemed rather hasty to the three other people. Especially to Shizuo. Most of the times, Izaya's language never was in his vocabulary. "Doesn't make sense." He blurted aloud, his eyes still in contact with the other's.
"Expected from you." Teased Izaya.
"What made you take the top floor in the first place?" Shinra crossed his arms.
"Good question."
"You could say that I winded up taking a wild guess."
"Some of my clients prefer to have a meeting with me there instead of coming over to my place. Since I thought it was a client at first, I guess it could also be my biased way of thinking that it made pick. But at least, I guessed right. Isn't that quite something?" He joked, suddenly spreading both arms into the air with no care.
"And that's how the great Orihara Izaya got framed! The end."
"Heh. Who would have known that the flea would get framed one day?" Shizuo sneered at him, clearly enjoying this. "A payback for what you did to me back then, eh?"
Yet Izaya merely continued to smile. Now that he thought about the incident back then where he framed the blond, he supposed it was karma for what he did back then. But it's not like it was a choice. "You seem to be enjoying this, Shizu-chan."
"I will enjoy every moment of you suffering, I-za-ya-kun." Shizuo grinned devilishly, though the vein twitching by his forehead showed how pissed off he still was. He's pissed at Izaya. Wait, no. He's pissed at everything right now.
"So, you believed my story?"
But what Izaya asked next honestly took the blond off guard; thus the anger had subsided for a short while. He expected anything, but this, from the flea. He shifted for a while, crossing his arms as he huffed. "Tch. Don't get any idea, flea. I didn't say I believe you since everything about you is utter bullshit. Even your words are full of shit."
"Really."He heard the other said. "By the way, how are you and Psyche now? Still taking after the annoying crybaby?" Annoying crybaby... Psyche? He felt something snapped within him.
"Don't talk about him like that." Shizuo narrowed his eyes, the growl heard from the back of his throat.
"What? That he's a big baby?" Izaya dared to repeat, not even realizing what he said only until a little later then when Shizuo raised his voice all of the sudden.
"I said don't talk about him like that!" The caramel eyes flashed dangerously at Izaya with fists clenched tightly in anger.
For a split second, hurt was evident in Izaya's eyes, and there went the gnawing feeling at his heart— nevertheless, it never went noticed— not when his lips curled back up to life a short second later.
So, in the end, Shizuo still liked Psyche even up till now. If that isn't amusing.
And it was like this how they were reminded of their high school days. For one of them, it had been an unrequited love; for the other, it was a hate at first sight.
He thought this with slight disdain, as much as he'd hate to admit. "I can talk bad about him whenever I pleased to, protozoan."
And for the millionth time today, Shizuo felt his temper rising again. The sudden tension in the air was noticed, but none of them dared to say anything to break the ice. After all, they all know very well on who hates who.
"Izaya..." The blond slowly drawled, the cracking of his knuckles served as a warning sign. Before one step could be taken forward, he was met with the doctor acting as an obstacle.
"Oi, oi, can you two behave yourselves?!" Shinra scolded, catching both of their attention. "I don't need you two go thrashing around our apartment!" He continued, the hands placed on his hips showed how serious he was.
"... Sorry." was all the blond could mutter whilst Izaya kept silent, having nothing to say at all as he dealt with a familiar— not so pleasant feeling washing over him.
"Izaya, what exactly did you come here for? You said you wanted me to do you a favor, right?"
Ah, that's right. He remembered he had come to ask the doctor for a favor. "I need to stay over at your place for the meantime." Well, not really asking.
Silence then settled into the room afterwards.
"... Eh?"
"WHAT?!"
"... Is there a problem?" Izaya blinked, taken aback by their reaction. Especially Shizuo.
"Well—"
"OF COURSE, THERE IS! I'n going to stay here too, that's what it is, flea!" The blond barked back, stating it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Out of all places, why did it had to be here? He inwardly growled, not knowing that a certain raven too were having the same thoughts about him.
"E-EH?! W-wait, what?! No! You can't stay here! You both can't stay here!" Shinra declined instantly, forming a big X with his both arms.
Before one of them muttered even a single letter, Shinra told them once more. In a harsh way, of course; but not entirely in a harsh way. It was just that he was against the idea, not them both. "Izaya, since you're wanted, I don't want to risk having people barge into the apartment, interrupt my lovely time with Celty just to look for you! And— Shizuo! You're going to scare all my patients awa– oof!" But sadly, he got elbowed into the stomach before he could even finish his sentence.
After giving a low blow to the doctor's stomach, Celty worked with her fingers on the screen once more. 'Sorry, about that. You both can stay here.' Read the screen.
"Eh?! C-celty! But that's really really a bad idea!"
'How could it be one?'
"Well, you see... Since I have patients coming in here every now and then... Who knows what'll happen they see Izaya? And Shizuo?! He'll scare them away! But Izaya's presence is sure going to bring them back anyway."
Celty pondered at this for some time. Now that Izaya was on the news... It's possible that it went viral all around on the internet.
'Good point.' The dullahan showed to Shinra.
If Izaya was seen, there could be a high possibility that they would go after him in no time. And having to know Shinra and Izaya knew each other, it's also likely they'll go after the doctor and force him to tell. That was something Celty found unacceptable.
On the other hand, Izaya rolled his eyes, seeing through Shinra's antics. It was quite obvious that the doctor didn't want them both here not because of anything, but just them.
"Relax, I can survive cooping up in my room for the whole day, you know. It's not like they'll barge into every room." He countered. "And it's just for a while. Not forever. I could be gone sooner than expected."
'That's a good point too.'
Celty shared a glance with Shinra from the opposite side. It stayed like that for few more moments.
"Well, I suppose only for a little while." The underground doctor sighed.
"Wait, how about Shizuo?! You said you're also going to stay here, right? Unless... Celty, were you the one who invited Shizuo..." The dullahan swiftly nodded before Shinra could finish his statement. "Oh, I see... Why?!"
'Shizuo needed a place to stay for a moment. His apartment is going under a renovation since it needs lots of repairs and stuffs.' She showed the doctor before quickly typing some more. 'It'll take a while, however and I don't think it's safe for him to sleep in the park even if he is strong.'
"So, the flea is going to live here too?"
Meanwhile, Shizuo merely stared with disbelief. Of course, he was completely unsatisfied . This— this had to be a nightmare. The flea was going to live here?! The thoughts chaotically hurdled throughout his mind. The idea of living with the flea... How long would he last, he wondered? But at least, they're not sharing the same room... Right?
"Aha, by the way... There's only one spare room left since the others are already used..." Oh no, he's not going to? "... So, I think you guys will have to—–" No, don't say it. "—well, share the room." Too late. Whoever is up there laughing at the pain of his agony, here's his big 'fuck you' to them.
"Why don't I just go and sleep outside? Just seeing him here is already making me mad. What more if we're going to share the room?" Shizuo twitched once more at this idea. It seems that the black rider noticed this and decided to take an immediate action.
'It's not like the we have any other choice.' She showed the blond her text. 'I'm terribly sorry about this. I wished I could have seen this coming.' It might not be enough to convince Ikebukuro's renowned strongest man but after reading the message, he felt a bit guilty. Why was Celty even apologizing anyway? It's not her fault that they came without knowing the flea's presence. He scratched at the back of his head, thinking of what to say.
Before he could say anything however, Izaya has already beaten him to it. "I already took a risk going out, Shizu-chan." Pouted the informant "I don't want to face it again~" Not when there are still a couple of people out there searching for him.
"You can get arrested for all I fucking care." A vein popped on the blond's forehead.
'Like what he said it should only be for a while..' Celty made her screen visible to both men before turning to Shizuo. 'Well, depends if the commotion going on in the city now has already died down.'
'Maybe then he'll return back to his apartment. But if your apartment is done repaired before his time, you could be the first to go back. At the meantime you should stay with us.'
Oh, Celty. You're such an angel.
"Anyway, we mustn't waste our time! You two, follow me to your room now."
...
"And here's your room!"
"I'll be heading to sleep now. Oh, and uh, try to tone down it down, okay?"
"What the fuck do you mean by toning down?" Shizuo frowned bitterly, not at all taking a hint on what Shinra was trying to say.
"Haha, nothing... Night." With that, the doctor took off, leaving the two alone at the entrance of the door. It was then when a heavy ice fell onto them, though not completely but the atmosphere they were having was slightly endearing.
It might have went unnoticed or they were simply oblivious, but they felt quite awkward. To share one room with a person you hate the most; and a room to be shared with one you love most. In the end, they mattered despite the big differences.
"Well, aren't you going to enter?" Izaya broke the silence, causing the latter to look at him although it only lasted for less than a second and his usual gruffy reply. "Shut up. I am."
"So, why is the lovely beast not in his usual shabby place?"
"Go die."
"That was a compliment, you know."
"Remind me why can't I just hand you over to the police and get ten million yen in reward?" Shizuo looked over, giving him a glare in the eye.
"Because I will get executed and you wouldn't want to get my brother sad, do you, Shizu-chan?" He grinned, fully knowing how well the topic would bother the latter.
"Fuck off."
"I'm hurt."
After their small bickering, the knob was finally turned and the door was pushed open. Shizuo was the first to enter since he was in the lead, followed by Izaya who rolling in with his luggage. With the light switched on, they finally looked around once they reached to a halt, taking in every single bit of details in their surroundings. The room was small, much to their dismay, but the room wasn't shady at all. It was rather nice. Out of all things however, it was the one bed that caught their attention the most. Well, more like only Shizuo's attention since Izaya plainly walked on to the near end of the room and placed down his luggage by the corner.
"What should I wear for tomorrow..." The informant wondered aloud as he then sat down and zipped open the bag before rummaging through it. Despite the fact that he became wanted for an awfully big amount of money, it still didn't stop him from being bored. And the only cure to his boredom is to walk around. But now that Shizuo here... Well, it's not like the blond was going to stay inside forever or agree to entertain him. He does have work to do as Izaya had recalled; and he had always hated the flea.
"Just wear the same clothes." He suddenly heard the blond answered, causing him to snicker. What a plain but typical answer. "Stupid protozoan, did you think that if I am going to wear the same clothes, they won't notice it's me at all?"
"Yeah." Shizuo bluntly replied. "Though wouldn't make a difference even if you changed your clothes. Your face is a pest too big to even be ignored."
"Yeah, sure. Then I'll change my face to make it more of a pest to look like Psyche's." He replied in a mocking tone.
"Would a punch change your face?" Shizuo glared once more.
The bickering subsided after a few moments.
"Shizu-chan."
"What?"
"You know, I think it's best if I get a disguise." Izaya started as he started to neatly pack the clothes he had picked up earlier back into the baggage.
"... A what?"
"You know. A cover up." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You mean like cosplay or some shit?"
"Yeah, whatever suits your boat, Shizu-chan." He rolled his eyes.
"So, what about it?"
"Take me out for shopping tomorrow." Izaya childishly exclaimed, a smug smirk being worn.
It took Shizuo for a while to get what he meant. But when he did, he blinked. Perhaps once, or twice but still, he felt quite surprised. Did the flea really just asked him to take him out shopping tomorrow? "No."
"Eh—– why?" The brunet pouted.
"First of all, because it's you. Second, I don't want to be seen with you and thirdly, it's because of you."
"You just repeated the same thing twice."
"Shut up, I know that."
"Besides, what good would that even do?" Shizuo decided he didn't like the idea. Heck, he didn't like everything about the flea.
"Think about it, what if people saw me with you, Shinra and Celty~? I'm sure you wouldn't want to be dragged into this tag game too~"
"That's why I don't want to be seen with you, fucking flea."
"But people wouldn't know it's me if I am in a disguise, right?"
"Disguise or not, you're bad news."
Izaya kept silent afterwards, busy skimming through the pockets of his baggage in search of his belonging. By the time he found it, he turned after closing his luggage only to find Shizuo looking at him. He didn't know why but somehow, he felt nervous about the way how the blond was looking at him. There was an unknown glint twinkling in his eyes but it was no sooner than that when he realized that the gaze was not directed at him, but at the material he was holding.
"What the hell is that?"
"Hm? This?" Izaya looked down at it for a short moment before sparing another glance at the blond. "It's a tape recorder."
"Tape recorder?.. For what exactly?" The blond questioned. Well, it was expected too, if he had to be honest. Tape recorders were the 90's things and they were quite popular back then when radios nor discs have yet to be invented. But eventually they have fallen out of style now as the world grows modern. Nevertheless, he took this as an advantage. Since people barely even use them anymore, he didn't need to worry about people listening to the tapes he had recorded. He doubted anyone would want to listen to old types of music or such.
"Obviously, I'm going to use it to record things. Why else is it called recorder?" He retorted.
"Curious about what I recorded, Shizu-chan?" He started to teasingly smile as the other simply began to grimace. "Tch, I don't even wanna know what's in there. Probably about your sick fantasies." Shizuo spat out with an evident of disgust in his tone. Yet Izaya didn't seem to be perturbed by this as he simply smiled.
Of course, that smile of his always appeared to have agitated the blond as he looked away immediately. Another awkward moment of silence settled between them.
And Izaya didn't like it at all. It wasn't until a moment later when he saw the brute pulling out his phone and started to click it away. Deciding it was better than to deal with the awkward silence, he stood and immediately snatched the phone out of the blond's grip but what he saw on the screen was certainly not expected.
It was an old picture from their high school days, or as so the image said. Shizuo was smiling brightly, a smile he had seen a couple of times before but never had it directed at him. Beside the blond was the person he knew all too well. His brother. They were smiling so widely that they seemed like the happiest couple in the world. That was something that can't be ignored.
"What's this? Aw, it's a picture of you and my lovely brother! How sweet."
"IZAYA! Give me back my phone!" Shizuo growled from the back of his throat, making an attempt to grab for the phone to which made Izaya twirled away in reeponse.
"Sorry, no can do."
Shizuo stood abruptly from the bed and started stalking towards Izaya. Izaya saw this as a danger sign but now that he's stuck in a room with a cramped space, he knew he didn't have any choice. Before he could do anything, he accidentally clicked a button on the phone. ".. Oops."
And just as he said that, Shizuo's face seemed to have deadpanned for a short time. "Flea— what the fuck did you just do?!"
"Give me back my phone, you bastard!"
"I may have accidentally deleted a folder or two..." Izaya flipped close the phone, the device was then thrown to the blond who had caught it with ease. After that, he didn't hear what the blond muttered but he knew it was nothing good.
As he watched Shizuo crawling back onto the mattress, it was then he realized there was only one bed in the room. And upon seeing the other laid down there, that'd mean he'll have to either sleep elsewhere. No way was he going to sleep on the floor. "Shizu-chan. I believe you're on my spot." The brunet exclaimed out of nowhere, drawing closer to the bed.
"Go sleep on the floor."
"How cruel. I want to sleep on the bed."
"No."
"But the floor's cold and hard! And it's not even yours!"
"First come, first serve."
"I came here before you."
"I got the bed before you."
"I don't want to sleep on the floor. It's unfitting for me."
"Well then, your royal highness— get out and sleep in the living room instead then." Shizuo mockingly replied before turning his back to the other.
No longer than that however, he felt a sudden weight shifting the bed and a warmth huddling close to his body. Shizuo immediately faced the other direction and went flabbergasted as soon as he saw what ( or rather, who ) it was.
"—?! What the fuck— the hell are you doing, flea?! Get off!" Yet the raven did not abide by his order as he simply snuggled against the bed. "But the bed is so comfy and warm." Izaya childishly argued.
And Shizuo can't help but have his face reddened at the sight of it. "I SAID GET OFF!" He kicked the other hard enough to push him out of the bed.
"Oof!"
...
...
...
"Ow. You're such a meanie." Izaya slowly got up, now glaring at the other as hard as he could. Looks like he is going to sleep on the floor after all.
"Complain all you want, but you're gonna sleep on the floor and that's the final. Got it?"
"It's not your bed, you know."
This time, it was Shizuo's turn to keep silent. There were sounds of sheets rustling and when Izaya looked up, he noticed that Shizuo was settling himself comfortably on the bed.
"Heading to sleep already?"
"Shut up. It's late and I'm already having enough headaches from you tonight."
Well, it is about two o'clock in the morning. Oh well. While the blond decided to sleep, the informant might as well stay up for a little while to record some things. He stared at the small recorder in his hands for a little while.
...
Time passed and the brunet has yet to record anything. He kept tumbling around, the soft mattress that was usually beneath him is now replaced by a cold, hard surface to which he was not used to. Frustrated, he sat up from his stance, a hand groggily rubbing at his eyes. What time was it now?
His gaze trailed to the blond whom was snoring lightly on the other side of the bed. It was obvious that the blond was sleeping. Yet Izaya could not help but kept his eyes fixed on the sleeping figure, his small snores vexing and reassuring him at the same time. It made him think of the old times; after all, it's been a long time since he slept in a same room with another person. Perhaps– he thought to himself– things aren't so bad now. Except for the fact that both his reputation got tainted and there might be gangs coming for him.
His eyes narrowed at the sudden thought of his younger brother.
Psyche...
Ah, that's right. His family.
How are they now, he wondered?
Probably very disappointed in him and has to deal with more bullshit now that the news had spread through the city like a wildfire. Furthermore to increase the fuel, he was not there to explain.
Like they'll ever listen to me, Izaya bitterly smiled at this.
Just as his thoughts were about to shift to a certain brute pictured together with another raven, his small trance was disturbed when he heard a loud shuffling, and before he even knew about it, he was staring right at the blond's sleeping face.
For once, Izaya was able to see the peaceful look of Shizuo's face in his sleep. For once, Izaya did not see the beast raging with eyes filled of hatred towards him.
It was strange.
Everything felt strange too.
They never have been these close before. Never. Now that he was reminded...
Why hasn't Shizuo rat him out yet?
He was quite surprised that in the end, Shizuo agreed to the whole of this thing. At least, their relationship has quite improved over the years at one point. He might as well be regarded as the luckiest man on earth for breathing in the same room with his so-called nemesis. Even up to now.
Maybe Shizuo did restrain himself from punching him now due to the dire situation but even if he didn't, he still found it impressive. For all he knew, Shizuo could have tricked him and handed him to the police earlier; perhaps even beaten him up on their way back home and leave him on the streets. But he didn't do any of that. Even after several years of proclaiming his hatred and his vow to kill him— in the end, he saw his chance but did not take it.
Why?
Was it because of the situation he had in his hands right now?
Or— could it be because of Psyche somehow?
How unpredictable, Izaya sighed. Who knows what goes through the brute's mind?
"... Hm. I guess I won't record anything tonight." He thought aloud, his gaze torn away to stare down at the recorder in his hands. With the object placed by his side, he stood to turn off the lights before settling himself back onto the floor, his back turned to the sleeping blond's face. There were still so many questions running through his mind but alas, he managed to lull himself to fall into a deep slumber as his chest began to rise and fall in a rhythmic pace.
And as the both the blond and the raven slept peacefully that night, little did they know about what the future holds in store for them.
Shizuo finally appears! And thank you for the follows and reviews!
And as a reply to one of the reviews: yes, the beginning was based on frozen but not entirely. You will see what I mean by a couple of chapters later. And to another certain review, I'm afraid I can't tell you that since I can't risk spoiling the story. Besides, where's the fun in that if I spoil it? You are free to imagine what happens next however. Although I think it's really obvious who's the culprit behind what happened at the Observatory tower incident.
I'm also sorry if there's anything lack of explanation, I was in a rush. Plus this is the first time I've ever written a chapter this long.