Chapter 17

Mocking Bird

A/N: Tis a short one due to my slight writers block. Re-routing this story, even i'm confused now.

"What?"

"…"

"Masaomi…"

The blonde boy eyed his guardian and the taller blonde. This morning Shizuo Heiwajima himself was at the breakfast table. Nai's uncle and father stayed quiet about it, but Masaomi Kida was positively dying to know what happened. "Did you guys have sex last night?"

Shizuo's face turned red and he turned on his heel, stalking off down the sidewalk while Nai spluttered and stomped her foot, "No! What the hell kind of question-?"

"Why else would he have been there this morning?"

The taller blonde was already rounding a corner a block away but Nai ignored it, "Two adults can sleep in the same bed without having sex Masaomi."

"Sure they can."

"Don't."

The boy shrugged, "I just want to know if I should be bragging about this or not. Because having the Shizuo Heiwajima be my guardian on top of having a bad ass yakuza guardian would be pretty cool."

Nai rubbed her temples, "Good grief, that's not what you should be thinking."

"Admit it. It would be cool."

She sighed, "What happens between me and anyone else is my business. Got it?"

He threw his arms behind his head, "Yeah yeah, I got it. …but, it would be cool…"

"Go to class!"

"Good morning Masaomi." Mikado greeted his friend then bowed slightly to the adult when he was close enough, "Good morning Nai-san."

The woman nodded as Anri too bowed and gave her soft greeting. She tugged at the hem her her skirt and shuffled her feet, "We passed Shizuo a short while ago. Is he ok?"

"Yeah he totally-!"

Nai covered the blonde's mouth with her hand. "How about we stop gossiping and go to class?"

Masaomi swatted at Nai's hand, glaring at her as more and more of his schoolmates filed through the gates but not before tossing the four a strange glance. She let go and he took a theatrical deep breath, "I almost died!"

The woman smacked the back of his head as the bell rang, "Go learn some shit."

Anri started inside the school with a bow to the adult and Masaomi was right behind her with an arm over her shoulder. Mikado looked at them and blushed, shuffling his feet, before running after them.

Nai watched them all the way to the doors and climbed back into the car, lighting a cigarette and rolling down the window. Her phone buzzed, "I'm just going to meet Tom. See you later." -Shizuo

"Alright." -Nai

"Nai-kun!"

The woman didn't even flinch really, she just closed her phone and turned to her intruder, "Well don't you have impeccable timing."

The informant slouched in his seat, "I saw Shizu-chan."

"Good for you."

"Bad mood Nai-kun?"

She ignored Izaya's question and started the car, "Money's in the glove box. Spill it."

"Work work work." he opened the box and took out a yellow envelope, peeking in it before tucking it in the hood of his jacket, "You know, you may not even live long enough to be Ojo. No need in working so hard."

"You aren't funny."

"Not trying to be."

The car went quiet. Nai thought it was strange for a split second, strange that she wasn't as worried as maybe she should be. But she did have a theory, "Are you just hoping something will happen?"

"Well of course! I love fireworks just as much as you human's do." He tittered with his phone, "They know you're onto them."

"So?"

"So they're holding off silly. They can't come get you when you're waiting for it."

She huffed, "I can't relax even with that news…"

"Nai-kun you're surprisingly stupid. You're focusing so much energy in the wrong direction."

"You can stop mocking me now."

"I'm just saying. I could easily tell you who to go to, who to get rid of."

Nai drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. It couldn't be that easy, it never was with Izaya. Who was she kidding? Nothing about her life was easy. It was a revolving door of complications and every time the door rotated someone else stepped in and the complications grew and grew until eventually…

"Who?"

Izaya's smirk was extra mischievous as he reached into his jacket. He handed the woman a disk and hopped from the car, skipping across the intersection just as the light turned green. A car honked at her so she made her left turn and headed away from the Shinjuku limits and back into Ikebukuro.

"I was starting to think you forgot about me!"

Nai smiled at Shinra as she entered his condo, "I did." He frowned, "But I brought cake to apologize." And the smile was back.

"I guess you've been busy!" He practically shouted into the bag as he pulled out the pink cake boxes.

"Yeah. I can't keep up with the series of events in my life right now, between the drugs, the money, my dad, Shizuo, the kids...ugh."

He was already halfway through a slice, "What does Shizuo have to do with anything?"

"He insists on babysitting me." Nai picked at her own cake slice, "He thinks I'm a horrible person but still... I dint know. He's a distraction more than anything else."

"This topic isn't a relationship building one."

She continued on, ignoring him, "I mean. How can he hate me to a degree but still want to be with me? It makes no sense. He claims he gets me but I doubt it."

"Can we talk about Celty?"

"Like that kiss was insane-"

"Kiss?"

Nai put her cake down and fell theatrically back onto the couch, "Yes. I kissed Shizuo."

"It's about time."

She waved her hands around, "Let's talk about my impending death instead."

Shinra scrunched up his nose in distaste, "You aren't very good at conversation Nai-chan."

"Just pick a topic."

The doctor eyed his friend and set the cake down on the table. "You aren't being very careful." She nodded and he took off his glasses, cleaning them on his lab-coat, "Celty says you've been running around the city."

"I've been trying to figure out who is after my family."

There was silence, "Have you asked Izaya?"

"…He said it was the Noramibu. But, Tezuka wouldn't…"

"His dad is dying. I checked on him yesterday. He doesn't have too much longer."

"Dying or not he could still be the one behind this. I'm not above shooting an old dying man."

"It could very well be Tezuka also."

Nai sighed again and reached into her blazer. She pulled out a disk in a paper case and set it on the table next to her untouched pink box. "You should have asked about Shizuo." she said halfheartedly.

Shinra picked up the disk and walked across the living room to his stereo. "May I?"

The gangster held her breath, not sure if she was ready to hear what was on the audio. No doubt audio from Izaya's surveillance. She nodded.

*static*

"…can't stop her…"

"It's worth a try."

*static*

"…pay them off. It's dangerous."

"…know. But I can't keep…behind her…"

"Fine."

*static*

"If they…we all do."

"Not…careful. I will…"

"…kill you."

"Yeah…cold hearted bitch."

"Turn it off."

More static rolled on for another minute or so while Shinra tried to decide if he should let her listen to more. He cut it off; the silence that followed was thick and heavy. He tried to place the voice, sure that he'd heard it before.

"Was that?"

"Yeah. It was Tezuka…" she rubbed her temples, "I don't know the other voice."

"I'm sorry Nai."

Her hair rustled against her blazer as she shook her head. She ran her hand through her mass of thick chocolate waves in frustration and stomped her foot, "Dammit I hate when Izaya is right!"

"What did he say?"

"That I was looking in the wrong direction. I was looking everywhere but at the person who was smiling in my face."

"Did you handle her?"

Izaya bounced on his toes, "Of course. I doubt that dear old dad is anywhere on her mind right now."

Daifu smirked and handed the informant a briefcase, "And that Noramibu brat?"

"You know your daughter." he sang.

His smirk grew, "Good."