Chapter 11

Tame

"What are you going to do?"

"I have no clue but I have to think quickly."

Shinra's breath crackled through the phone speaker as he sighed, "It'll be ok Nai. What did your uncle say?"

Nai exited the elevator and pinched the bridge of her nose, "You know him. He has way too much faith in me." She knocked the door in front of her.

"W-well I wouldn't say that." The door opened and Shinra smiled awkwardly at her, "We could have had this conversation when you got here."

"I'm freaking out Shinra! There's too much on the line here and the other families think I'm a joke!" She walked into the living room, the doctor following behind her, "Maybe I should kill...someone."

"Nai?"

The woman elbowed Shinra, "Hey Shizuo." She whispered over her shoulder, "You could have said he was here."

The doctor pouted, "I didn't know you were coming!" he whined.

Shizuo narrowed his eyes at the woman as she sat next to him the white couch, "What are you doing here?"

"Um...visiting?"

"What did you do?"

Nai stuck out her bottom lip, "Why am I in trouble?"

"You just said you had to kill someone." The blonde growled at her, "Spit. It. Out."

"I got caught starting up a drug ring by the FBI and I was shot at...and I might have shot a guy in the kneecaps, well, above the kneecaps."

"What?!"

"Is Celty here?" she asked Shinra calmly, "I have her money."

Shizuo started to yell but Nai firmly grabbed his chin as Shinra fussed in the background. "Be gentle with him Nai-chan!"

Her hazel eyes narrowed on the bruises on his face, "What happened?"

"Don't change the subject."

She poked his ribs and he winced. Her eyebrows perked up and she looked at Shinra who waved his hands in a panic, "Celty isn't here! Shizuo got hurt on the job."

"Stop talking around me like I'm not here!"

Nai took her hands off him and Shinra sat on the couch across from the duo. She sighed and put her head in her hands, "My family is in deep shit. The FBI has my picture, my dad's too."

Shizuo sighed and lent his head back on the couch. "I told you they'd ruin you."

"They're my family Shizuo." She reached in her pocket as she sat up and tossed something to Shinra, "My uncle trusts me. I plan to do my job well, even if it means killing someone."

Shinra studied the little pink pills, "Is this the drug Nai?"

"Drug?!" Shizuo shouted.

Nai threw her hands up, "Didn't I just tell you I got caught running drugs? Were you listening?"

The blonde stood and paced. Shinra got up and put the little plastic bag in his pocket, taking Shizuo's seat, "Nai, maybe now is a good time to tell me...and Shizuo what you were up to."

She sighed, "I was learning how to be a better criminal. I studied under three different families in America, each a major crime family. I learned how to be a better killer."

Shizuo rushed to the couch and yanked Nai up from her white dress shirt. He held her nose-to-nose and just stared at her. "You went willingly...

"No! I never wanted to go!" her eyes moistened a bit, "You both know that saying no to my father is something I can't do. And I didn't plan on letting my uncle down."

Shinra put a hand on Shizuo's arm, "Let her go Shizuo."

He lifted her higher off the ground, "You do it because you like it. You're a criminal."

"Fuck you Shizuo!"

Black smoke squeezed between the two and Nai fell to the ground. Shizuo turned to Celty who held her helmet in the crook of her arm and he knew if she had a face she'd be glaring.

She whiped out her phone, "What's going on here?"

Nai stood, "I was leaving."

Celty stalked over to Shizuo as the door slammed, "Go apologize."

"Why should I?"

"You were wrong."

The blonde growled and shoved his hands deep in his pockets. Shinra frowned at him, "I don't think I've ever heard you talk to her like that."

"She just makes me so mad when she's reckless. The FBI Shinra? That's dangerous! She just got here..."

Celty's shoulders slumped, "I knew your were worried but you shouldn't have called her out like that. I don't think she expected it from you."

"Who else would do it?"

The doctor knew that was a good question, he would never berate her like that, he was always afraid she would retaliate. But just now, with Shizuo, she did the most unlike-Nai thing, she ran.

"I understand Shizuo. But go talk to her. I don't think you want to leave her angry."

"...fine."

Her car was running and she sat in the drivers seat. Shizuo mumbled to himself about how odd she was and tapped on the window. It rolled down a moment later, "I'm sor-"

"Get in." She cut him off.

"What?"

"Get in the car Shizuo."

He climbed in, situating his seat back as far as he could. He studied the side of her face as she pulled away, no tears, good. "I'm sorry."

"You don't owe me an apology Shizuo. And I'm not angry."

"I half expected you to punch me or something."

She laughed, "I wanted to."

He placed his glasses on his face and she glanced over at him, "Shinra didn't treat you yet, did he?"

"It's nothing some frozen peas can't fix."

"Seriously?"

He shrugged and she drove on. She stopped outside his apartment building and turned off the car. The blonde looked over his shoulder at her as he unlocked the door, "What are you doing?"

"I have to use the bathroom and I'm not letting you waste a bag of frozen anything."

The apartment was silent for almost twenty minutes. Nai used the bathroom then returned to the couch with an unopened first aid kit. Shizuo had forgotten all about the gift from his brother, it even still had the bow on it. The woman parked herself on the coffee table and attended gently to his bruised and slightly cut face. She pulled off his bowtie and he just watched her eyes, ignored her fingertips as she undid his shirt.

"I am a criminal you know."

"Huh?"

She taped a cold-paak to the right side of his ribcage and chuckled, "I'm a criminal. You were right. I was born one...killing people...it doesnt bother me like it should."

"Yes it does."

Her chukle made him frown, "I think that because you want to save me, you see something that's savable. Somthing that's not there."

Shizuo sat back on the couch and scratched the bandages wrapped around his torso, holding the icepack to his ribs. "Whatever. I don't hate you for what you are...I'm just frustrated."

"Hm, what I am." Nai scratched her head, "Alright! I'm hungry. What do you have in this place?"

The blonde stood, "The usual."

She smirked, "Dairy products and ramen."

He sort of liked the sound of her feet shuffling as she followed him to the small kitchen, he also liked her height difference out of those shoes of hers. There wasn't really enough room in there for both of them but neither seemed to mind. Shizuo started the ramen as Nai rummaged through the fridge. "So what's happening?"

"What isnt happening?" the young woman rolled up the sleeves of her dress shirt after she set two bottles of milk on the counter, "The families are running this new drug and their charging American dollars for it."

"Tom and I went to collect from this guy today who seemed sick. He was ranting and out of control."

"Shinra is testing the drug for me. I don't trust it. I learned a lot about this kind of business while I was away. American gangs have this down to a science, we're just swinging blindly."

Shizuo stared at her while she opened up her noodles and started eating. Nai was a good person, just...reckless and a little too brave. "Are you affraid?"

Nai smirked, "There's a first for eveything." She blew at the noodles between her chopsticks, "I did tell you to be carefull. I meant it."

Shizuo set down his milk, "I don't think you should be worried about me."

"Yeah yeah." She elbowed him playfully, "Whatever you say."

"Hey Kida."

The bleached blonde teen grinned form ear to ear as Nai entered his bedroom. Her sweatpants ruffled and she tied off her hair. "Hey!"

She fell onto his bed, "Have you done your homeowork?"

Masaomi laughed, "Maybe."

Her glare was a playfull one, "Kida..." she chided.

The boy joined her on the bed, crossing his legs. "This place is awesome, can I stay here?"

Nai sat up and mimicked his postition, "Seriously?"

"Yeah! I mean look at this room!" the boy glowed as he spoke, "And I can be here with you! Maybe you can teach me to shoot a gun or something."

"No!" he jumped and she took a deep breath, "You can stay here. But you can't join this family ok? It's too dangerous."

He frowned, "I know Izaya told you what I did. What me and my friends did."

"You...and your friends?"

"He didn't say anything about them did he?" the boy questioned meekly. He recovered quickly and grinned at her.

She pinched his nose, "You can't win me with that cute ass smile, what happened?"

"A lot."

"Spit it out Masaomi."

He flopped backwards onto the bed and groaned. "I regret it."

The woman lay down next to him and sighed, "You were amazing. A born leader. Nothing to regret." There was a knock at the door and she sat up, "Shit. Come in!"

"My lady. Something just arrived for you."

Nai tookt he envelope from the man and pulled out the papers inside. Just far enough to see the pictures and the little note tagged, "With Love, Izaya."

She stood from the bed, "We'll finish this conversation later."