19. As soon as they leave the shop, Shizuo walks away from her without a word, hands in his pockets. Mai watches him go for an instant, then begins to follow, speedwalking to keep up with his longer stride. "Heiwajima! Heiwajima, wait!" He doesn't stop. "Hold on, please. Shizuo, I'm sorry!" The man whirls around, staring at her, though the way light is hitting his sunglasses prevents her from reading his expression. She clenches her fists and refuses to look at him, staring at his shoes instead. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Izaya. I know you hate him and everything, but just because I live with him doesn't mean I'm involved with any of those schemes he does. In fact, I only spend maybe ten hours at the apartment, and most of that is sleeping. I'm always working, or at my classes, or wandering around Ikebukuro. So please don't-"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Mai flinches, closing her eyes, and suddenly realizes she's crying. In a flash, she reaches up and wipes her thumb over her eyes, hoping Shizuo hasn't noticed. She blinks and another tear falls, so she bites her lip, waiting.

"I don't care who you're living with!" Startled, she raises her head, and Shizuo swears, looking to the side. "Dammit!"

It didn't matter to him? Then why had he left so suddenly? Why was he so angry about if it wasn't about her? She drags her sleeve across her eyes again. "You're not mad about that?"

"Of course not!" He glares down at her. "You got hurt because of me!"

"Oh, please don't worry about that!" She holds up her arm, even though her injury is well concealed beneath her winter coat. The disinfectant Simon used still stings and although she's certain he's done a fantastic job, she thinks she'll pay a visit to Shinra just to be safe. She could always go to Ayako, but then she'll be forced to answer a bunch of awkward questions. "I'm fine, really! If I hadn't jumped in the way, Izaya would have stabbed you in the shoulder. Or maybe the neck. I honestly thought he would've been able to stop himself from getting me, he usually has more control than that. It was my fault, so don't blame yourself for it. I certainly don't."

"Taniyama-"

"Ugh….enough with the formality already!" Mai cries with an exasperated smile. "I'm Mai. Just call me Mai. We're friends, so please don't start avoiding me out of guilt or concern something like this might happen again. Remember, I don't think you're a bad person, and I don't want to lose your friendship. That would hurt more than any knife wound."

For a long time, Shizuo says nothing. He takes off his glasses to clean a lens, lights up a cigarette, and when he finally does speak, it's a long sigh, one she recognizes as an attempt to calm himself down. "Give me a couple hours to clear my head, okay?"

Relief floods her heart and she nods. "Take as long as you need."

"I'll treat you later. Sound good?"

She smiles, eyes closed, head tilted to the side.

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I rewrote this four times.

Ghost Hunt is owned by Fuyumi Ono and Shiho Inada.

Durarara! is owned by Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Akiyo Satorigi.