Chapter 39: The destination is…?
A lady's tea time would have held less gossip than the court that had just taken place had triggered. Like a stream of ants the people who had attended the scenario poured from the hall. Glances were cast, chatters shared and steps hurried as no one wanted to stay longer than absolutely necessary.
With a glare settled deeply on Shizuo's expression, he watched the masses pass by.
Hypocrites.
All of them.
Most looked like they were wealthier than all the villager's back in his hometowns combined. How come that the ones who were in charge always ended up being those who profited the most?
"You idiot!" a hiss louder than expected startled Shizuo from his watch as he tore his sight from the last person exiting the hallway.
He was standing in front of the court. The hall was now empty and no one left except him and a very obviously fuming flea.
"What-" he started, but Izaya didn't even let him speak.
"Do you even realize what you have done?!" To say Izaya seemed angry was an underestimation. The glare on his expression and the way those words dripped with venom with every single syllable spoken still failed to describe the madness that was now directed at Shizuo.
And Shizuo didn't take them well.
"Sorry for saving your ass, I thought you could need some help there," he spat, losing his own temper at the way the raven lashed out at him.
"Shizu-chan you made enemies with the entire court!" Voice doubling Izaya merely continued to flame. "Do you even realize what that means?!"
Loud the two bellowed at each other.
"So what? What the hell did I do wrong?!"
Louder.
"Everything! It took me a ton of connections, loopholes and blackmail to just stay where I am now, while they were trying to get rid of me, just what do you think they will do with you?!"
And then it was quiet and it was as thought someone had blown out the candle of the source of this burning flame of anger.
Looking at the flea Shizuo suddenly saw not only indications of madness, accusations and displeasure, but also care. Worry.
And the fact that this was not about the flea.
"... are you worried about me?" Shizuo questioned, quite dumbfounded at the realization as Izaya let himself drop down onto a chair next to the door leading inside the hall. Legs apart, elbows leaning on top and with his head in his palms he proved a sight too vulnerable to call threatening.
"Fuck."
He swore.
Izaya never swore.
But how could he not, in such a situation? Thousands of thoughts raced through Izaya's head simultaneously as he tried to make sense of this new mess they had been dropped into.
Feelings that were not of much use popped up as well as a set of thoughts Izaya would have rather left buried. The possibility of Shizuo dying, or rather, being killed, made his guts twist in a way that seemed unbearable.
He knew he was in danger. And he knew Shizuo had no idea.
Meanwhile Shizuo was simply surprised. He had already known, or at least figured, that Izaya cared about him in one way or another. But to show it to this extent-
"It's not like I'm not grateful," Izaya suddenly mumbled, "Of course I am, they were about to throw my sisters in front of the titan´s like living livestock-" he swallowed harshly and the hands cupping his head added more pressure. "Fuck of course I am. But you have no idea of the consequences of what you just did."
Like a flash the previous hours resurfaced just to slap the blond across his face.
The way Izaya had laughed freely, how they had flirted- the were heading to his room to-
But now?
It was as if time had been reset as he looked at his captain who had again been dropped into despair and the immense urge to just hug the flea and tell him everything was going to be alright forced itself onto Shizuo.
But that was not an action he could take. It would be nothing but empty words and even less comforting when it was Shizuo that Izaya was worried about.
Fists tightening loosely next to Shizuo's body, his expression darkened. All of this was caused by this damned war against the titans.
No not even that-
It was the men in charge of keeping it going. And Shizuo had no idea where to even start and try to fix their situation.
He couldn't really say anything because he didn't get as much as the flea did.
And izaya was right.
He had really no idea what he had just done.
But the flea seemed to know and he worried about him.
"You are right, I'm stupid, I have no idea what's going on," Shizuo admitted and his knees touched the ground as he lowered himself to Izaya's eye level.
Hopeless and worn out Izaya's eyes looked as he finally raised his gaze to look at the blond. "but I know you do." Shizuo continued. "So, I will do whatever you tell me to, okay?"
A tired smile coaxed forth from Izaya's lips as he shook his head softly. "If it were that easy..." he sighed, "It's not about the things you could do Shizu-chan, it's what they might do to you because of your current position." The hands dropped into a fold between Izaya's knees and Shizuo realized he was waiting for him to regret his actions.
He thought he didn't understand the consequences of what he had just done.
But he did.
"You know, no matter what that is, I don't regret what I said in there," Shizuo assured, "As long as it keeps you and your sisters safe I don't mind getting caught up in trouble."
Izaya smiled, albeit it was a bitter one.
He knew about Shizuo's intentions. And the fact that they made his chest feel warmer than any sunlight could still didn't change the fact that this intention might as well lead to his death.
"The trouble might kill you."
"I don't go down easily."
Izaya snorted. Shizuo didn't even miss a heartbeat when responding.
Did he really grasp the full consequences of his actions or was he just blissfully unaware? No matter which option it was, it didn't take any of the truth from his words.
"You certainly don't."
The two of them had experienced quite a set of dangerous situations by now and always emerged victorious.
Mind trailing back to the earlier evening Izaya couldn't help but think about their conversation.
About how he asked Shizuo to take care of his sisters in case something were to happen to him and how serious Shizuo had seemed when he promised the very same.
He had taken a few seconds to answer and judging from his expression known exactly what he was vowing.
So despite Shizuo maybe not entirely grasping what his actions were going to trigger, he certainly hadn't done so without being aware of the consequences.
So what place did Izaya have to accuse him?
"They will call you on another mission soon, probably, trying to get rid of you," he whispered, his eyes glued to the ground.
Shozuo was quick to answer, as expected.
"They can go ahead and try."
"They might send assassins after you, today might as well be your last day alive," he tried and the blond seemed even less impressed.
"Well it's been a nice last day then at least."
Feeling his throat constrict, Izaya's hold on his hands only tightened.
"How so?"
"I got to spend it with you."
Izaya would have lied if he had said he was surprised by those words, and yet he couldn't help but show such when he raised his gaze to meet Shizuo's.
His expression was so serious, not leaving room for any doubt. Nothing but warmth radiated from the way he looked at him and Izaya felt his throat tighten as he whispered.
"You are so goddamn stupid-" and Shizuo snorted the most beautiful smile resting on his lips as he agreed.
"I am."
It was then that the harsh creak of a door being opened interrupted the quiet of the hall.
Akabayashi.
Shizuo had seen the man often enough by now to recognize him on sight. He was Izaya's direct superior and at least from the looks of it one of the few allies the flea had.
"Risky. But worth a shot I would say," the man started as he approached the two main attractions of the court.
"Really? You approve?" Izaya asked and his words were layered thickly with sarcasm.
A halfhearted shrug followed as Akabayashi reached for his pocket. A smoke was drawn from it and with a quick flick of hand he put it between his lips before lighting it. Patterns of gray filled the air as he spoke.
"At least it showed them their place."
Bitterness defined Izaya's stance as he rose from the chair.
"Yeah, which is above us."
Akabayashi nodded, "But below the folk."
Silence honored the truth of his words as Izaya responded with a solemn nod. He was right. They may have close to no allies, but in this case pleasing the masses actually worked in their favor.
Stepping forth Akabayashi approached Shizuo who viewed his extended hand quite quizzically as he failed to comprehend its meaning.
"I guess I am the first, let me congratulate you on your promotion," the superior said and Shizuo took it with hesitation.
"...thank you, I guess?"
"Guessing is good," he laughed, before facing Izaya, "If you ever run into trouble your captain knows where to find me."
A tired, but appreciative nod was given by the raven before Akabayashi redirected his gaze towards Shizuo.
It was funny but despite knowing close to nothing about the guy and his appearance being rather daunting Shizuo felt he was trustworthy.
"I will make sure he doesn't have to contact you then," he said and Akabayashi's face slipped a smile.
"I like this guy," he laughed while addressing Izaya. But the raven wasn't quite capable of showing the same lightness.
His mood was heavy with the consequences of the court's decision.
Resting his hand on Izaya's shoulders Akabayashi tried to comfort the former captain.
"Don't take it too hard." It was just a low whisper and not more than that was said as he walked off.
He had probably realized nothing he was going to say would lighten the mood as Izaya's gaze redirected towards the ground.
Shizuo could do nothing but remain silent as he watched Akabayashi leave. The way he treated Izaya seemed awfully nonchalant.
"Who exactly is he?" he asked, and really hoped Izaya wasn't going to give him a rundown of their ranks but an actual insight.
"A friend of my father. They used to hang around as kids and apparently he feels the need to take care of his son in his stead," Izaya sighed. "I'm not the only one. You probably saw the little girl that accompanied him last time. After his hometown got destroyed he took it upon himself to care for those who lost their parents. He has four other kids under his wings."
Feeling assured in his earlier assessment, Shizuo couldn't help but feel a certain kind of admiration for the man.
He had taken care of Kasuka ever since they were little and it had been no easy feat. Sure Izaya's superior probably had more money and prestige to back his decisions, but all in all it was still an honorable act.
More humane than anyone else inside these ranks at least.
Letting his gaze trail back to Izaya he couldn't help but notice how silent he had become.
Which was extremely untypical for the flea.
"... what now?" he asked, hoping to at least be able to help Izaya while he was grinding his gears. .
A tired smile was shown as Izaya shook his head.
"Are you talking about our situation or the time of hour?"
"Both?"
Both, huh?
It was a fairly good question. What were they supposed to do? Sit around and wait to fall victim to another of Shiki's schemes? What if they were already in the midst of one without any way to escape? And even if not how were they supposed to prevent falling into one?
Izaya felt like a moth sitting just at the edge of a gigantic spider net. One of his legs was already entangled and just one simple movement was going to either set him free or have that fat spider sitting at the end of the black tunnel coming for him.
Taking a deep breath Izaya turned to face the blond.
There was one thing he wanted to do at least.
"Are you up for a walk?" Surprise called to Shizuo's expression at the random suggestion.
"Is that a date?" he joked shortly as curiosity flared in his eyes.
"Not really." Izaya snorted. He wished it were really. But this was more important than them making out. "There is a place I want to take you to."
to be continued~ C: xD
Yoooo peopleeee.- gomeeen xD I was sick for over two weeks straight- fuck children omg can they just not carry a thousand diseases with them? xDDD I only have three updates this week, but I should be able IF I DON'T GET FUCKING SICK AGAIN -cough- to update all 5 stories again next Saturday xDDD With that being said~ Where do you think Izaya wants to go? haha