The scorned bride
"Are you sure?" Izaya pressed a knuckle between his brows in frustration. "You might not believe it, Izaya. Shizuo left with his brother."
Typical. Shinra didn't believe him. His friend thought he was having a breakdown.
"I'm telling you, Shizu-chan has been captured." Izaya spoke through gritted teeth.
His friend was silent making him look up from the new laptop. The stupid thing was in the set up phase at thirty five percent. Shinra had his hands clenched, a nervous twitch in his knee.
"You know something." Izaya accused.
"I'm not supposed to say anything."
"What do you know? Tell me!"
Shinra lowered his head shuffling nervously. "...my beloved got an invitation."
"Invitation?" Izaya echoed. "For what?"
"Izaya, it might not be what you think it is." Shinra said quickly.
"For what?" He repeated in no mood for games.
"A wedding. Shizuo text her to come-alone."
Izaya gaped. A wedding? Shizuo was getting married? "Alone? That doesn't sound suspicious at all. Dual is threatening Kasuka. It has to be. Shizu-chan wouldn't get married. He wouldn't-"
"Izaya." Shinra stood up looking down at him solemnly. "Shizuo could have moved on. That's why he left. It is fast but maybe this is what he wants."
"It's not!" Izaya snapped standing to Shinra's height. His fists were clenched in an act to stop him breaking a second laptop. "It's not what Shizu-chan wants."
"Is it? Or is it what you don't want?"
Izaya scowled folding his arms. "Where did Celty go?"
"I don't know."
"Where is this wedding?"
"I don't know."
"Do you know anything helpful?" Izaya snapped. Somewhere in Ikebukuro his ex was about to get hitched. The thought made him sick. "Forget it. I'll look for myself. Shizu-chan is getting married over my dead body."
That was when the door opened and the dullahan walked in holding a bouquet.
x-x-x
The wedding was a small affair. Quickly arranged before either of them could change their minds. A minimum amount of people that included himself, Mikado, the priest and Celty. Shizuo hadn't asked Kasuka because his brother had only just left. He had been enough of a bother.
It was good to see a familiar face. Celty had a multitude of questions that only few were answered. She stood at his side whilst he and his lover said their vows, exchanged rings and then it was done.
He became husband to Kanra Orihara now Kanra Heiwajima. Mikado looked ecstatic about that. His lover was slightly less enthusiastic to see Celty. Choosing to stick to his side and invade every conversation she tried to hold. She had mentioned Izaya.
It was a simple ceremony. There was no church, no dressing up in tuxedos. The only things that had mattered were the rings that now sat on each of their fingers and the priest. The venue wasn't a church or any holy ground. It was in a hotel lobby closest to their current home.
It was over now. Shizuo looked down at the ring heaving a soft sigh. Celty's hand rested on his shoulder. Congratulations. I hope you'll be happy together.
"Thank you, Celty-san. We will." Mikado interrupted. "Shizuo, we should be going."
Shizuo nodded seeing as the teen had chosen to forgo the wig and contacts. "Yeah. I'll see you later, Celty."
Make sure you do.
Shizuo nodded pulling the cap down over the raven's head. It offered a tiny bit of a disguise. They went their separate ways. Celty rode off on Shooter with the only wedding tradition they had gone along with. The two of them climbed into the waiting cab letting it take them back to the apartment.
x-x-x
"Are you sure that was wise?" Kanra asked.
"Getting married?" Mikado eyed the closed door. It wasn't uncommon for the blonde to walk in without knocking.
"Letting someone else be there. What if she tells him?"
"She won't. Celty is Shizuo's friend, not Izaya's. We have a more permanent mark on him now."
Kanra smiled smoothing her thumb against the band. "Yeah. We don't have to go by his name any more."
"All traces of Izaya Orihara have been removed." Mikado relaxed in the chair.
"Not all."
"Not all." The teen agreed. "I think it's time we dealt with the main problem at hand. We've had our forty eight hours. Shiki-san isn't going to wait any longer. Once we take care of Izaya we don't have to worry about Shizuo."
Kanra grinned wickedly. "Then let's go take down Izaya." She quickly fell silent hearing the catch on the door. Shizuo walked in holding a tray.
"I made you a drink. Do you want anything to eat?" The blonde asked setting the mug down.
"Yes please." Mikado smiled eyeing his husband's finger. With a smile he took the mug of coffee taking a sip. It was rich, bitter and burnt his tongue.
"Anything in particular?"
I'll have whatever you're having." A soft ping from the computer told him he had a message. Mikado smiled at his husband moving the mouse to open it.
Nakura:- I think it's time we had a talk.
Izaya. The informant wanted to meet. Well that saved them looking for him.
Dual:- I agree.
"More cat videos?" Shizuo asked.
"No. Just a joke." Mikado clicked off the window. "Can I help make lunch?" He asked hopping up from the chair.
"It's okay. I've got it handled." The blonde gently brushed him off turning to leave.
"Shizuo, I love you."
"Yeah. Me too."
Nakura:- Russian Sushi four o'clock.
Dual:- Nine o'clock.
Nakura:- see you there.
"See you there." Mikado closed the chat room. Tonight everything ended. Tomorrow he would rejoin Shiki as the yakuza's informant.
Xx-x-x
Izaya shot a glare at the flowers propped up in a tall vase on the table. Over his dead body indeed. An empty threat as it turned out. Shinra had told him too late. Celty had returned from the wedding.
Dual it seemed wasn't one for the big traditional setting. Had he known that...it would have still been too late. The yakuza's dog was one step ahead of him. Something Izaya intended to change with their meeting. Ikebukuro was his playground.
With the meeting set, Izaya looked over to the dullahan. Shinra was standing between them even though Celty could handle herself. She wouldn't give him any information in regards to Dual.
"...did he look happy?" Izaya asked quietly head in his hands.
A hand rested on his shoulder. With dread he looked at the screen held in front of him.
Partly.
Partly? What did that mean? Izaya shook his head ready to ask his next question. Celty was faster.
Shizuo says he has it handled. If I get you involved it will only make things worse.
"The protozoan is doing something dangerous again? He never stays out of trouble."
"I could say the same thing for you." Shinra laughed but there wasn't anything joyful about it. "You'll get him back."
"In a body bag if he continues like he is." Izaya scowled bitterly. "Celty, I- never mind."
Closing down the laptop, Izaya made to leave only for the dullahan to step in front of him. You're up to something. She accused.
"I'm always up to something."
Don't interfere.
"I don't have a choice." Izaya sighed stepping around Celty. "Dual is my problem. Everything they're doing is to provoke me."
Celty typed something else but he was already out of the apartment hugging his jacket around him.
x-x-x
Marriage. It wasn't something he thought would ever happen. Shizuo's thumb smoothed over the silver band watching Mikado eat. As punishments went it was sweet. So bitter sweet he would choke on his own guilt.
It had been good to see Celty again. His best friend had looked happy. If not for the nervous twitch every time she typed. There had been few words between them that hadn't been witnessed. Shizuo knew Mikado didn't want him talking to his friends. The teen had no one himself. Not those he could see anyway. Izaya probably knew his lover was back. Knowing how persistent the raven could be it was a surprise they hadn't been found yet.
"Shizuo-san, you're scratching."
"Ah." Lowering his hand, Shizuo pushed away picking up his half empty plate from the table.
"Do you regret marrying me?"
"No. Never. I'm still...processing." On how much more he had betrayed Izaya. "I didn't expect things to happen so quickly."
"You're angry?" Mikado asked pushing his plate away. Shizuo shook his head pushing it back.
"No. Eat up. You'll need your stamina."
The teen flushed. "Um, I have to see a friend tonight. I have to be there for nine."
"Oh. Do you need an escort?"
"No. That's okay. I'll take a cab." Mikado smiled and resumed eating. Shizuo emptied his starting to wash up.
x-x-x
"Something wrong?" Kanra asked. Mikado shook his head making sure both the pen and knife were in his pocket. The jacket had a hood that would do nicely.
"Shizuo regrets marrying me."
"Us." His counterpart corrected.
"Us. He doesn't look happy." Mikado sighed making sure the computer was turned off.
"That's because he's pining after Izaya again. A problem we are taking care of."
"Mikado, the cab is here." Shizuo called. The teen left the study closing the door. His husband was by the window looking down at the street below.
"I'll be going now."
"Yeah. Have fun." Shizuo was in front of him giving him a kiss.
"We will." Mikado smiled embracing his husband. "I should be back by twelve."
"Do you want me to wait up for you?"
"No. I can let myself in."
"Then I'll be asleep." Mikado nodded leaving the apartment. Looking over his shoulder he could see Shizuo standing there with his arms crossed watching them.
"It'll all be over soon." Kanra said.
"Yeah. Not soon enough."
x-x-x
Shizuo stepped back into the apartment closing the door. So the kid did still have friends. Good for him. Leaning against the door Shizuo looked up around the empty apartment. It felt like so long ago since he had last been alone.
The apartment felt bigger than it was. The blonde didn't utter a sound in fear of would be echoed back. Alone was bad. Being alone meant there were no distractions. Nothing to keep him occupied.
Shizuo went straight to the bedroom stripping as he went. His nails raked across his chest. In the light he could see a part that hadn't scabbed over. It had scarred. A colour different from his own flesh much like the first original cut.
That distracted him for a few seconds before realising he was thinking about Izaya again. Throwing back the covers, Shizuo climbed into the bed rolling them around him like a sushi roll. Curling in on himself the blonde kept his hands to his sides, teeth gritted burrowing his head under the pillow.
x-x-x
Mikado stared out of the window. Kanra was humming happily stroking the knife. "Do you think it was okay to leave him alone?"
"Shizuo? Yeah."
"He looked depressed."
"Shizuo will be fine. He'll probably scratch at that wound again. We need to do something about that." Kanra flicked the knife open and closed.
"After this problem." Mikado sighed.
"You're not having second thoughts are you?"
Mikado grit his teeth. "No. This ends tonight."
"Glad to hear it. Mr cab driver, can't you go any faster?"
"This is fast enough." Mikado ignored Kanra's antics. She was eager to finish things but neither of them had seen Izaya since their return.
The informant had been the one to train them. To run, to use a knife, to love. How many of those past feelings would rear up and stop what needed to be done? The time the three of them had lived together was the most precious.
x-x-x
Almost nine o'clock. Izaya checked the time leaving Russian sushi. His belly was full with delicious tuna. Not that he could taste it. Still he needed to keep his strength up.
"So was there a point to me being here, or did you just want me to watch you stuff your face?" Aoba asked following after him.
"I'm meeting with Dual tonight. As the name suggests there are two of them. Two on one isn't really fair." Izaya shrugged as if that explained everything.
"So you thought I would be your second?" The teen laughed. "I don't want anything to do with you. Why would I help you?"
"Then why did you come? You owe me."
"How?" Aoba scowled. "Taking out the yellow scarves? Another gang will take its place."
"Sleeping with my sister."
The teen flushed choosing to look down at his feet. "We haven't done that yet." Aoba looked up at him accusingly. "I can't be the only one left to be your ally?"
Izaya said nothing. His silence made the teen smile coldly.
"I am aren't I? What happened to your lovers? You're not calling Mikado-sempai back? What about Shizuo?"
"...that's none of your business." Izaya scowled scanning the street.
"Aw. Did you abandon them or did they abandon you?" Izaya's fist clenched around his knife. "They were the only two to actually care about you."
"Shut up."
"I think you're finally understanding what it's like to be human." Aoba continued. "Now that you have nothing."
"I said shut up." Izaya snarled slamming the boy against the restaurant front. "You don't know anything. Shut your mouth before you join Kida-kun."
"That wasn't you." Aoba smirked up at him. "That was your replacement. The new informant. It's a shame Shizuo-san isn't still in Ikebukuro. Maybe Dual could replace you in that way too." Aoba laughed. It took every ounce of control not to smash the teen's face in. "Ah. I think your guest is here."
Izaya's head whipped around seeing a lone figure standing at a short distance away. They looked like a spectre with the dim light highlighting their present. Scanning the left and the right he tried to pinpoint where the other one would be.
"Looks like whoever that is doesn't like two against one either." Aoba pushed him away quickly escaping. "I'll give Kururi your regards."
Izaya let him run. His attention was on the figure that had turned to run away. "Oh no you don't." Kicking off the wall, Izaya chased after them. He was getting answers.
x-x-x
Mikado froze. A road's difference was between them. The informant wasn't alone. Something he hadn't accounted for. Still it would be two on two. Izaya turned around to face them and Mikado's breath caught. The reality sank in. Their old lover was in sight. The one they had loved wholeheartedly and the one who had betrayed them.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Kanra whispered.
"Not here." Mikado murmured. "Somewhere else." Turning on his heel he ran. Through the dim lit streets away from the brightly lit signs. Mikado fled to the darkness where the shadows swarmed covering his escape.
On the way to meet Izaya he had thought things through. The best way to rid themselves of the informant without causing any backlash. Kanra wanted to stab him with her knife over and over again. That would make them murderers. That would mean they couldn't stay with Shizuo.
Height. Mikado hissed eyeing the darkness of an alley to his right. Slinking inside he ran to the end smiling at the cold metal rungs heading up towards the roof.
Behind him he could here the slap of their pursuers feet against the concrete. Mikado closed his eyes ignoring the slither of fear curling around his joints. The noise he was making wasn't to conceal himself. It was to get to the top as quickly as possible.
Izaya was right behind him clambering onto the lower rung. The informant didn't speak, didn't throw insults. That made the silence that much intimidating.
Mikado hissed feeling pain in his ankle. A warm wetness trickled into his sock and he knew Izaya had cut him. Reaching the top of the roof, the teen jumped back landing on his butt when the informant swiped for him.
One red one blue eye widened unable to tear their eyes away as Izaya rose like an avenging demon, red eyes glittered with malice. Mikado quickly staggered up biting his lip at the pain. It was a paper cut. He reminded himself.
They weren't quite high enough. Not enough for the fall to be fatal. Mikado eyed his goal. Gritting his teeth he ran for the edge of the roof. The whiz of steel threw him down. Sharp knives sailing overhead.
Mikado cried out feeling one of the sharp blades slice his arm. Another paper cut. Izaya was gaining on him. Kanra forced their body to move only for Izaya to barrel into them knocking them back down.
His knees took the brunt of the fall. They were either grazed or bleeding. Either way it stung. "Caught you." Izaya's voice was cold against his ear. Colder than he had ever heard it. If they didn't kill him, he would kill them.
x-x-x
Dual was a teenager. Apparently only one of them saw fit to turn up. Izaya could use one against the other. This one was a boy judging by the tone of his cry. Izaya slammed his head against the brickwork keeping him down.
The yakuza's latest dog was a scrappy one, slamming an elbow into his rib cage. Izaya gasped releasing his hold. The teen's foot struck his stomach. Izaya quickly recovered slashing out to cut just below the teen's knee.
The boy cried out spinning around. Izaya hissed recoiling back as the sharp tip of a knife grazed his neck. Pressing a hand to the wound he stood watching as the hooded figure darted forward hurling himself from the roof.
It was a small distance, the teen already climbing the metal rungs. Izaya took three knives from his pocket throwing them at the boy's unguarded back. The three of them melted into darkness. Izaya glared running forward. His foot touched the edge of the rooftop propelling himself into the air.
With ease he landed on the same ladder a few rungs underneath the teen. Izaya pulled himself up feeling blood trickle into his top. A careless mistake. It was the knife wielder he faced. The muscles in his arms and legs burned, a tightness across his abdomen. Pain lanced through him as his current limitations kicked in. Not eating properly would do that.
The teen was ahead of him. Izaya heaved himself up on the next rung pushing his lead limbs. This building was higher and he knew that was the teen's goal. What the new informant didn't know was that he liked heights. Liked testing their limits and this wasn't about to stop him. The teen would have been safer down below.
Izaya pulled his body over the edge watching out for any cowardly attacks. The figure was standing close to the far corner crouched to attack. He'd been trained.
"Finally decided to stop running?" Izaya asked skipping to the centre. His movement were light despite his exhaustion but his aura deadly. His gaze roamed over the teen noting that the teen was more injured than him. His jeans were ripped, the jacket he wore was wet at the arm.
The boy had his hood up covering his face. What wasn't covered was a slim hand with a silver ring. Izaya's mouth twitched into a sneer. This was the one married to the fortissimo.
"You've caused me a lot of trouble." Izaya stalked forward flicking open his switchblade. "You've made a mess of my town and taken my toy. I want him back."
"No." Izaya flinched hearing the teen speak. It was painfully familiar. Rushing forward he tore the hood down seeing the skew cut black hair. One red eye one blue stared up at him harbouring nothing but contempt.
"...Mikado?" He asked in disbelief.
"You'd know us as Dual." His old lover smiled coldly. "Izaya-nii, die." Izaya blinked stumbling back as he was pushed. Too close to the edge. The knife was still in his hand but his fingers refused to move. They went lax the blade clattering to the rooftop.
His feet had frozen along with every muscle in his body. His eyes didn't leave Mikado's. Or was it Kanra? Izaya felt a hand against his chest, soft lips he frequently dreamed about against his mouth. Then the wind was cutting against his cheek and through his hair. The figure on the roof top smiled giving him a wave as he grew further away. Izaya watched him turn and leave.
He was falling. Izaya didn't know how far below the ground was. His back would be the first to feel the impact. The windows rushed past him. Izaya watched the moon fascinated. The corner of his vision blackened. Darkness rose coiling around his head.
The world tilted as something tugged harshly at his ankle. The ground grew beneath him, Gravity pulling him down. His body swung slamming mercilessly against the brickwork. Izaya groaned feeling his skull ring, arms hanging uselessly above his head.
Through the tinted grey, Izaya watched the shadows bunch together, gathering below him. A shiny silver sliced the air above him. Izaya fell finishing his fall. A thin layer of spongy shadow cushioned his fall. Badly.
"I've seen you save humans in a much gentler way." Izaya complained rubbing at his lower back glaring at the Dullahan.
I told you not to interfere.
Izaya shook his head staggering to his feet. Everything tilted to one side. With embarrassment he realised he was held up in Celty's arms. "You knew." He accused.
Shizuo has it handled.
Izaya watched the letters blur. "You know what this means?" He mumbled slurring his words. Celty typed something else but he couldn't read it. "...I owe Shizu-chan an apology." At least that's what he meant to say. Celty dropped him. The helmet dissipated and Izaya passed out.
x-x-x
Mikado couldn't remember how he got back to the apartment. All he remembered was the shock of seeing Izaya fall. The need to turn and flee before watching his old lover's body hit the asphalt. Logically it would have made more sense to go to Shiki. His new mentor and a member of the yakuza. No one would expect it was him. There had been no witnesses. Aoba didn't know his identity.
Closing the door Mikado peeled off his shoes limping to the bathroom. The light was blinding. Taking off his jacket the teen examined his arm. Izaya hadn't gone easy. It would probably need stitches. His pants followed, crouching to check out the cuts on the back of his legs. There was one across his hips he hadn't felt or noticed. They had only taken Izaya down due to surprise.
Izaya hadn't known, hadn't expected. The truth had floored the informant giving them ample time to make their move. Mikado looked down at his hands seeing blood where there was none. The plan had been a success. Izaya Orihara was gone.
"Mikado?" Came a sleep deprived voice. Shizuo stood in the doorway looking haunted. "What happened?"
"I got attacked. I'm okay, Shizuo."
"That looks deep." The blonde growled. "I'll call the hospital."
"No!" Mikado reached out. "It's okay." A sob caught in his throat. Tears streaked down his cheeks.
"Mikado?" Shizuo was there full of concern. Mikado threw his arms around the blonde. The dam broke and he bawled like a baby. Izaya was gone. They had rid themselves of the betrayer. He just didn't expect it to hurt so much. In his head Kanra had fallen silent.