17. Shizuo isn't sure how to act in a situation like this. So far as he can remember, the only woman who's ever scolded him like this is his own mother. Izaya and himself are in the familiar storeroom of Russia Sushi, except instead of Simon doing the scolding, it's Taniyama. She's been screaming at him and the flea for nearly twelve minutes now, and shows no sign of stopping or running out of breath. Seated across from her is Simon himself, smiling approvingly as he treats and bandages her arm.
"Really, idiots? You're supposed to be grown men, yet here you are-"
Izaya leans over to him, wearing an adoring smile. "She's so cute when she's this angry." Shizuo glowers at him, then for a half-second agrees before violently killing the thought in his mind. He feels awful she got caught in the middle of the skirmish. Not only that, but she had been stabbed! Not somewhere fatal, but it must've hurt. He could still see her wincing, fighting back tears as the sushi man arrived on the scene, thanking her for diffusing the situation and leading them all back here.
"-assholes!" Taniyama finishes, stopping to pant, and he finds himself suddenly staring at her heaving chest, before he tears his eyes away.
Silence prevails over the room, then Simon ties off the bandage and folds his large hands over Taniyama's tiny wrist. "There. All better now, da? No yell anymore, eat sushi, make nice. Shizuo still friend. And Izaya still annoy you."
Taniyama nods, her jaw clenching, then mutters to herself for a minute. "Damn you both."
That stings a little, but he deserves it. Shizuo hangs his head, unable to apologize. Not that he doesn't want to, it's just he doesn't feel any amount of begging for her forgiveness with be enough to make amends.
Then Izaya opens his mouth to make some cheeky remark about Taniyama's recent actions, and the woman explodes, "Izaya!" And Shizuo notices she calls the flea by his given name, not his family one. "I swear to God, when I get home, I'm going to poison something in the fridge and watch you die a horrible, painful death!"
The info broker breaks into a hysterical laugh. "Now, now, Mai, there's no need for such a drastic measure."
Taniyama stands, holding up her arm and shrieking indignantly. "You stabbed me, jackass! If you think I'm going to-"
"Whoa, hold on!" Shizuo holds his hand up for their attention, though he's focused only on Taniyama Mai. "When you get home...do you two live together?"
-0-0-0-
Author's Notes: To whom it may concern, this is not a love triangle.
Ghost Hunt is owned by Fuyumi Ono and Shiho Inada.
Durarara! is owned by Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Akiyo Satorigi.