Chapter 15

Cat's Meow

"What happened?"

Nai clenched her fists at her sides, her father stood at her uncle's shoulder, her spot, "I did as I was told."

Daiki sighed tiredly, "If you had been following instructions that woman wouldn't be dead."

She flinched, the story was still all over the news. A couple found dead in their home in a suburb of Ikebukuro was unheard of. By order of the Hagane clan the police were not to report on the currency plates and modified printer found in the home office.

"The time for the hit was six thirty. Long before the targets wife was to arrive home."

Nai approached the desk, "My order was for seven thirty!"

The clan leader held out his hand to his niece. I silent order for her to hand over the paper she had received the night before. The heiress checked the pockets of her blazer and panicked as each pocket came up empty, "I swear it said seven thirty."

Daifu reached into his own dark blazer, handing his older brother a small, square, paper. "She left it in her room."

"Nai...this paper clearly says six thirty."

She snatched the paper from her uncle and stared at it, clear as day was the time and that time was not seven thirty. "But...I know it said...and I didn't leave the order in my room. I didn't."

"Sweetheart," her uncle started, "I can see that you are still in shock. I can see in your eyes that you didn't expect her to be there and you only did what had to be done."

"I-"

He raised a hand, cutting her off, "But this is serious Nai. How did you even get this?"

"Dad.."

"He must have misunderstood my order." The older man glared at his brother, "I hadn't decided on whether or not to give you this hit. Anyway, what's done is done, and I have to fix it."

Her father still smirked and Nai was so confused. She wasn't even supposed to get the order?

'I swear it said seven thirty. It did. I know it did. I'm not crazy.' She tried to ignore herself and nodded.

"You're dismissed."

She felt hallow on the walk to her room. She kicked off her heels and peeled of her blazer, redressing her jeans and white tee with flat shoes and a grey sweater. She avoided the mirror because she knew what she would see and Nai Hagane would not cry.

When she stopped the car she wasn't at all surprised that she was outside the Sakamoto household. The yellow police tape kept her in the street by her car, which she lent against and crossed her arms.

'I think I've been set up. I know I've been set up.' Her father, he messed this up. He must have changed the time on the paper.

Nai covered her mouth with her hand. She still didn't cry, but it hurt.

"So Nai-kun, you really are a murderer now."

She swung on him, "Dammit Izaya!"

"I kindly told your uncle about Mr. Sakamoto. I figured he would want the information..."

Her eyes narrowed, "You had to have told him long before you tried to tell me."

"I was helping you..." The information broker was highly enjoying the woman's face as she realized what was happening. Her narrowed eyed slowly opened wide.

"He was keeping the information from me."

Izaya wandered back over to her side, "You were so ready to be the relentless face of your family and now you've screwed it up."

Her gun was out and the bullet hit a mailbox some ways down the street. Izaya laughed, " So you're going to shoot me now too!"

She yelled at the informant, "You bet your ass I am!" Her finger tugged at the trigger but she felt a large hand around her wrist, lifting her hand, gun and all, to the sky almost forcing her to her tiptoes. "Shizuo?"

He growled a little, "I knew I smelled something."

Izaya pouted at the blonde, "Oh Shizu-chan you're ruining my fun."

"I told you to stay out of Ikebukuro."

"Since when do I listen to you?"

"Hello?!" the woman shouted at Shizuo, disgruntled. The blonde pushed Nai behind him and met her gaze, she was trembling and her eyes were wet. "I'm fine dammit."

He nodded then proceeded to pull up the lamppost outside the police-taped residence. He spoke low, "I'll be right back."

Nai watched him run after Izaya and turned to kick her tire. "What the fuck!" she shouted at no one in particular. She should have just shot the informant in the head. What was one more murder and one less annoying person?

Shizuo stopped chasing Izaya not long after they rounded the corner. He ended up standing on the sidewalk awkwardly with the lamppost in his hand. "What am I doing?"

It was an inner struggle. He had purposely decided to stop talking to Nai because the level of violence around her was too much. It was her family. It was her reputation... he was afraid it was who she was... Thinking about it just made him angry, she wasn't supposed to be like this. Nai Hagane was no murderer. He wouldn't stand for it.

The look on her face when he grabbed her shirt was priceless. Once she was slightly in the air from his grip she glared at him, "What the hell Heiwajima!"

"Why are you killing people!"

She tried to turn her face away from him, "I was following orders."

"Bull shit! What the hell makes it okay to kill two people just because someone else says so?"

"Nothing makes it ok Shizuo! Absolutely nothing! I've beaten people; I've had others kill for me so I don't have to do the deed myself. I have done some things that I am not proud of!"

"You're a murderer!"

"I'm very fucking aware!" His grip loosened on her shirt and he felt her tears hit his hand. Her green eyes leaked on their own and she just her glared at him, "I know what I am Shizuo. I am painfully aware."

"Tell me what happened."

Nai clenched the teacup in her hand and stared at the wood of the coffee table as the blonde joined her on the couch, "I was given an order to take out someone who was putting the family in danger by printing money with our plates."

"How deep does this go?"

She didn't say anything for almost a full minute, "The police already have some of the money. I'm sure we can buy them out of launching an investigation, but the American authorities will come down on us. It could get ugly."

"You're being stupid."

"Please don't remind me. I don't know whom I thought I was fooling. The families want tough and I should be able to show them tough without being relentless." She stood and started pacing, still clutching the cooling teacup, "But I know that won't cut it. I don't even want clan head anymore."

"Tell them that."

"It would crush my uncle and it's what my father wants."

"So what? You dumbass, do what you want!"

"I want to not lose my family."

He slammed his hands on the coffee table and she jumped, spilling some tea, "You've been following those stupid rules since high school and you still aren't happy! This isn't who you are!"

Nai glared at him, "Why do you even care?"

"I care because it's you." He clenched his fists; that's not how he meant to say it. The blonde took a deep breath to calm his nerves, "I care about you."

The young woman put her cup down and put her hands flat on the coffee table. Her heart was pounding and she prayed he was being sincere, but then again Shizuo couldn't be anything but sincere, "Why?"

"Because you care about me too right?"

She blushed, she literally felt her face heat up and she stood straight and put her back to him. It made Shizuo sort of angry and he stood also. Stepping over the low table to join her, "Don't do that! Just say you do."

A sigh, "I always have, you're a good friend. The only friend I have that isn't afraid to knock some sense into me."

"Because you're an idiot."

She deadpanned, "Thanks. I got that."

He collapsed back down onto the couch and sighed, "I was angry when I heard what happened. But I knew it wasn't like you to just kill two people."

Nai offered him a dry chuckle, "Not like me huh? Wasn't it you who said I do it because I like it, because I'm a criminal?"

"I-"

"You meant it." She interrupted, "And it's ok."

"I just didn't understand how it worked before. I still don't understand. I'm not really sure I understand you yet."

She chuckled at that also, "Heiwajima, I don't understand me." Shizuo stared at his hands as she sat next to him. Her sigh sounded defeated and tired, "The sad part is that this isn't going to go away. It's going to get worse before it gets better."

Shizuo grabbed her chin, the way he'd seen it done in movies and such but he was sure it was a bit rough. Damn, he was no good at this sort of thing. But it was different, in a nice way, seeing her this close. He had always thought her honey skin and odd eyes were interesting. They were almost bumping noses when he spoke, "Be careful."

Nai was too caught up in his scent and his brown eyes to really use words. So she nodded and tried her best to stop leaning forward. Her phone blaring in her pocket made them jump apart, "Hello?"

"I overheard Oishi talking about what happened. What the hell is going on?"

"What do you care Nora? I fucked up, I figured you'd be celebrating." The last person she wanted to hear from was this pampered Ojo.

"I don't hate you you know, it's the other way around." He sighed, "I'm worried about you. They said something about your uncle not handling it correctly."

"What?"

"They won't let me in the room; they won't tell me anything."

"Are you sure they're talking about me?"

"Yeah."

"I'm on my way."

"Hurry up."

Shizuo waited a few seconds before speaking, "What's going on?"

The woman turned to him, "Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"Shizuo, do you trust me?"

"Yeah."

"I'll keep you posted ok?"

"Wait I-!"

Nai cut him off when she lent over and pecked him on the lips. She then proceeded to jump over the coffee table and almost sprint out of the front door. She had kissed him and Shizuo was now painfully aware of the temperature in his apartment. "Fuck."

"Why is he with you!"

Izaya smiled at Nai from next to Tezuka, "I was called to help."

The young Ojo stood and put a hand on the small of the woman's back, taking it away when she glared at him, "Izaya knows what's going on."

She turned her glare, "Spill it."

"The plates and the money were planted." He said simply.

"Are you fucking serious!"

"Nai please. Just relax." Tezuka tried.

"Relax! How the hell am I supposed to-!"

Tezuka put his hand over her mouth, "There are guards outside this room. Please don't get us killed."

Nai gathered herself when the hand was taken away, "I doubt your father would kill his golden son."

The young man frowned at her, "I don't doubt it."

"Nora..."

"My relationship with my father isn't the issue here." He sat in the armchair across from the couch Izaya occupied. "I called because I've been banned from a lot of these meetings lately."

"A lot?" Nai approached his chair, "How many is a lot?"

"Five." Izaya smirked, "I've been to every one of them except today's but I get the feeling they're afraid I'll spill the beans."

Nai rolled her eyes, "Like you won't find a way to learn it all anyway..."

"I have bugs in the room." Tezuka's mouth gaped like a fish at Izaya's proclamation. The info broker turned his gaze to Nai; "I have them in your house too. The amount of time that boy spends on the phone with my Saki..."

"Damn Izaya..."

He clapped his hands once, happily, "Anyway, I can give you each all the information I gather. For a price of course."

Tezuka laced his fingers together, "Name it and I'll pay it."

"Same here."

"Great! I'll send you each my price."

Nai was getting a little nervous, "That's settled, tell me about these planted plates."

"The poor bastard was running low on cash, he and his wife squandered it away on that house and other things so he was looking for anything to help him get it back. Someone gave him the plates and the printer, so he was doing as he pleased. It didn't take long with their spending for the money to get into a decent circulation through the city."

"Their spending? She knew about the money too?"

"Tsk tsk Nai-kun, of course she knew."

Tezuka looked down at his hands, "Who gave them the printer and plates?"

"I can't tell that."

"Dammit Izaya!" Both gangsters yelled at the same time.

The informant was tickled by their behavior. "Adorable, maybe you two should get married."

Nai blushed and took a step away from Tezuka who covered his mouth and did the same. The heiress recovered first, "Nora, you said earlier that you've been banned recently, what were they saying before?"

"It's not a secret that they don't want you to take clan head. It was mostly about what I was to do during and after our engagement."

"Such as merging our territories?"

"Or killing you." Izaya piped in.

"You're joking..."

"He's not." Tezuka started, "There was a hit planned."

Nai wasn't exactly shocked by what she was hearing. None of the families truly got along, they all wanted each other dead. But for there to actually be a hit planned... Her eyes wandered to Tezuka's form, for someone like him to be involved, someone who'd known her since they were very young children. "Well?"

Tezuka frowned, "Nai?"

Izaya giggled, this was too rich, "Are you really going to dwell on this Nai-kun? So the Noramibu wants you dead, what's new?" He stood from the couch and walked between the two, "You have bigger problems. Someone is out there trying to get you and your family in trouble. And what I can tell you is that its one of the five families."

"Tezuka?"

The young man had been sulking over by his desk, his head perked up, "Yes Nai?"

"I don't hate you. I'm just envious, it was easy for you and I have to fight."

"If we get married it will be easy." He almost begged her, "I'll do whatever you ask, and I'll take good care of your territory."

"You hate Ikebukuro..."

"But you..."

Izaya rolled his eyes, "That's enough of that." He sounded almost angry, "You two are pathetic. Nai you wanted to keep your family so may I suggest that you start with family?"

She approached the door and put her hand on the handle, her other hand pulling out her phone. For a moment she looked at Tezuka as the device stayed pressed to her ear, "Shizuo?"

Both males glared at her back as she left the room, "Why was she calling him?"

"Never mind that." Izaya approached the other male, "My price for you is her."

"What?"

"Lay off the romance, you wont win her over...ever." his smirk returned to his face as he also headed for the door, "Overstep your bounds and nothing good will happen to you. Besides aren't you the one who tipped the police the first time?"