-๑-๑ ஜ ๑- Chapter 54: Trust is the highest good -๑ ஜ ๑-๑-

"It made no sense. Nobody saw it."

Quizzical expressions faced each other as the group looked for answers in their member's eyes.

Izaya didn't really care about the conversation. He was very much aware that Vorona had addressed him but his willingness to respond was nonexistent.

"Saw what?" Karisawa asked. She had been in the middle of lighting some candles to illuminate the room at least a bit.

"A zombie nearly bit me from behind, I didn't see it. Izaya killed it before it could do anything."

Izaya could have seen the surprise flashing across their faces if he had turned to look. He would have seen Vorona's gratitude and of course Namie's expression.

Shifting from pure hatred it showed a certain kind of disdain.

While she was obviously glad she hadn't died, having been saved by Izaya wasn't exactly an option she had preferred either.

But none of those minimal changes were noticed as Izaya's eyes were closed.

The only sound he was interested in listening to was Shizuo's even breathing.

Laying on top of the makeshift bed they had dragged into the library Izaya couldn't help but think about the time they played theater.

He called Shizuo a sleeping princess.

He would sacrifice anything if it allowed Shizuo to simply wake up from a magic kiss.

"Woah, Izaya, are you turning human?" The sarcastic reply had of course come from no one else but Namie.

Sighing softly, Izaya glanced towards the round of newly found allies.

"Oh, shut up, it was a reflex."

Namie seemed anything but pleased by the response as she got up from her seat.

"Oh, please. What kind of human moral reflex would you have?"

Izaya had known the woman for a long time, and he knew she was one to bear a grudge forever so her reaction didn't come as a surprise. Seeing how uncaring he had told her that he had killed her brother she would probably bear the hatred forever.

The group on the other hand seemed somewhat torn between the two sides. While Namie had all the reasons in the world to be mad, she still had gotten her own life saved as well.

"Can't you just leave him be?" it was actually Shinra who decided to butt into the conversation. Expression growing even worse in hatred, the woman scrunched her face.

"What, are you taking that bastard´s side now? He kills my brother without giving a damned shit, but oh my god now we have to look out for his feelings?! Give me a-!"

"Just shut that damn mouth of yours okay?!"

Like a nuke Shinra's words burst the heavy silence.

Izaya was surprised - he had never heard Shinra raise his voice. Namie only knew his easy going attitude as well, it seemed, as she quickly shut down.

Shinra was the only doctor in their rows- he was something like a life insurance in case anyone got injured.

And seeing how Namie had hurt her leg she was smart enough to not get on the doctor's bad side.

Eyes were averted and resentment stored away into the darkest corners.

Izaya was grateful. He didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment, least of all Namie.

"It's been a long day, how about we take a rest?" Shinra continued further, his expression relaxing again.

"Who is taking watch?" Namie questioned, although quietly.

"I can."

Raising from the ground it was Kadota who moved over to the bookshelf blocking the window.

Karisawa didn't seem all too fond of the idea as she quickly followed.

"You are injured!"

Moving some books aside Kadota glanced through the narrow opening.

"I hurt my arm, not my eyes," he announced with a shrug, "And you really need some rest, Erika. You have been taking the nightshift for two days in a row."

It was funny, but seeing how calm and collected Kadota reacted compared to Erika's agitation.

"But-"

"No buts."

A pout followed- but not more than that as the woman gave up.

It was funny, but watching those two banter like this about who was going to sleep, Izaya couldn't help but think about Shizuo.

In terms of rational decisions Izaya was the one who served most. Just regarding this particular topic he had been too uneasy to follow through with simple logic.

…. no.

Thinking about it, Shizuo had been the one to make the most rational decisions. He might have acted on instinct and gut feeling, but had he been so wrong?

Entering that hospital that almost ended up killing Izaya for example. Shizuo had advised against it.

Taking the antidote Izaya created himself, without even knowing what it would do- it was yet another irrational decision.

Shizuo acted like a filter to Izaya's ideas.

And somehow Izaya felt his stomach clench painfully at the thought that he might cease doing so, if he didn't regain consciousness.

Mindlessly Izaya let his hand trail to Shizuo's.

It was dark inside the library. The others had gone to sleep.

Izaya had lost track of time somewhere along the line.

The only steady constant was Kadota and a small candle flickering at the bottom of the shelf.

"Are you okay?"

It was way too dark for Kadota to make out Izaya's movements, so he had to have guessed he wasn't sleeping yet.

Letting go of Shizuo's hand, Izaya shrugged.

"You are the one with the injury." Kadota groaned in defeat.

"Everyone seems to love reminding me of that."

It was obvious the man was annoyed by his impairment and Izaya couldn't help but be a little amused. Kadota had always been a man serious and correct to the core, so naturally teasing him had been a very tempting action at any time.

But this was no time for jokes and amusement.

There were more important matters to be discussed.

"How is Shinra?"

Kadota hesitated for a moment and Izaya watched his frame as he looked over at the sleeping group.

Mentioned doctor seemed to be tight asleep as he clung to a random book on the ground.

Kadota sighed softly before lowering his voice.

"Not at his best, I guess."

Shuffling quietly the raven picked himself up from the ground before moving over to his old friend.

"Joining me?" Kadota asked, slightly amused.

"I thought you might get lonely." Moving that candle aside just a bit so he wouldn't run into the danger of burning himself, Izaya made himself comfortable, leaning against the shelf.

"How did she disappear?" The question was asked with utmost caution as Izaya lowered his voice.

There was no need to mention any name. Kadota was smart enough to get the context without asking anew.

"She went to get more medical supplies." he informed quietly, "I was shot and we were lacking various things like alcohol, bandaids, needles- you get it."

Surprise reflected in Izaya's barely lit expression as he looked at the man.

"You were shot?"

He had of course noticed the wound and he had seen Shinra when he had been in the midst of treating it, but he hadn't quite recognized it stemmed from a gun.

"Ah, yeah, hurts like shit, can't recommend, really." Kadota joked, trying to make light of the matter.

Izaya's eyes narrowed.

So that group of fanatics owned weapons.

He had hoped they did not, especially considering how they had used those creatures to get rid of Izaya and Shizuo.

But then again, maybe that was just another facet of their madness.

Izaya could very well envision those maniacs thinking that only humans devoured by zombies were actually saved.

They were like cancer spreading from within the survivors.

They needed to be taken care of. Nevermind creating an antidote or anything similar- as long as those bastards were alive none of that mattered.

He had to find them and get rid of them.

"Shinra said you met those bastards."

At that, Kadota's carefree expression changed. "The holy army? Yeah, we did-" his eyes grew sour and his lips drew into a tight line of anger. "I hope they drop dead soon one of these days."

He was mad.

Kadota was never mad.

"Woah, you are usually so peaceful, did the shot hurt that bad?" Izaya joked in a weak attempt to brighten the mood.

A glance was cast and Kadota's eyes narrowed.

"They didn't mean to shoot me. It was Karisawa that they meant to hit."

Karisawa-

And suddenly the girl's behavior made much more sense. She had always been a bright girl with a soft spot for her friends, but even with her personality her worry had seemed a little over the top.

Kadota was fine after all.

But if it was her that they meant to kill then…

A moment of silence followed.

"You took the bullet for her?" Amazement swayed in Izaya's voice. What Kadota had done was no small feat.

"I had to. If I think about what would have happened if I had moved a second later-" he faded out, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. He seemed distressed. "They appeared out of nowhere. Thinking about it, they have probably been watching us for a while." A bitter smile drew across his features.

"...but no one noticed." Izaya concluded, finishing the truth that weighed so hard on Kadota's mind.

The candle flickered as it was nearing its end as silence returned.

Izaya had never seen Kadota like this.

"I'm sorry." The apology came as an even greater surprise as Izaya blinked.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"The reason they even found you was probably due to you two joining us." Kadota sighed, "If we had paid closer attention they wouldn't have had the chance to follow you, and Shizuo…" fading out he glanced at the unconscious blond.

"You couldn't have known."

Worry and the heavy feeling in his guts returned instantly as Izaya followed his gaze.

Breath holding for just a second he perked his ears. With relief he caught the faint sound of breathing from Shizuo's location.

"He will be fine."

Izaya snorted, an uneasy feeling overwhelming him for a second.

"Why do you think I care? I just happened to meet him." The group wasn't supposed to know about them.

About how they got along.

In the long run only trouble would result from the connection. Namie already hated Izaya to the point she considered killing him.

Izaya could very much pass on having her exert revenge through Shizuo.

"Why does everyone seem to think I'm blind?" Kadota sighed, obviously hinting that he knew Izaya was lying.

Of course.

Izaya had known the man for years and vise versa. "You should sleep some. Knowing you, you probably skipped a few nights already." Kadota whispered, dropping the unwanted topic only to move on to a worse.

"Wrong," Izaya chuckled bitterly, "I was actually having the time of my life just one day ago."

Right here they had awoken to a nice sunrise. Shizuo had sat on the ground with him in a silly but good-willed attempt to help.

If they hadn't gone down for coffee then….

Feeling his blood boil Izaya thought about the bastard's face.

"Do you know where they are?" he whispered softly.

It took Kadota a moment to realize who Izaya was talking about.

They.

Plural.

"The holy army?" he questioned softly- and suddenly his eyes narrowed as his voice dropped, "Don't do that."

Blinking innocently, Izaya shrugged.

"What? I didn't say anything."

But Kadota was too perceptive for his own good as he frowned.

"Izaya, they are too many. You can't just take care of them yourself."

…

Kadota wasn't wrong.

Izaya knew about their number. He guessed they would be a rough estimate of ten to thirty people. But he wasn't stupid.

It wasn't like he was going to charge into their base or something with no plan ahead.

He wasn't Shizu-chan.

"I take it you won't tell me their location," he sighed nonetheless slas Kadota seemed far from being convinced.

"No. Sorry, even if I knew, you would be the last person I would tell."

Yeah.

"Understandable."

It was funny somewhat, they had never interacted a lot but Kadota had always seemed to care about his well being for some reason.

It was appreciated as much as it was a hindrance right now.

"Let go of your grudge. Hunting them won't help him," Kadota mumbled softly, not willing to let go of the topic it seemed.

Izaya snorted.

"Why do you always have to be so terribly reasonable?"

"I'm a fan of peace and breathing comrades."

Pausing for a second Izaya blinked.

"Am I? A comrade?"

"To me, yes."

It felt warm. The knowledge.

Sure, Izaya wouldn't have expected Kadota to leave him behind when he needed help, but hearing it was a whole different matter.

Glancing towards the small group, Izaya pointed towards them.

"And the others?"

Kadota sighed as he crossed his legs in an attempt to find a more comfortable position.

"Well, Namie hates you. One reason I'm taking the night watch is so she doesn't kill you while you sleep."

Understandable.

"I appreciate the idea," Izaya hummed as he glanced towards the woman. She was tight asleep, the blonde woman resting right next to her sleeping equally tight.

"Vorona… I guess she is on her side, but I don't think she would try to kill you."

Looking at the two like this Izaya couldn't help but think about the dangerous situation he had caught them in. Vorona seemed ready to give her life in order to protect Namie's.

"Are they a thing?" Izaya whispered, pure curiosity talking as Kadota awkwardly scratched his neck.

"I don't know. I think Namie is so blinded by her revenge that she doesn't realize. And Vorona seems happy just being able to support her."

Heh.

They would suit each other somewhat. Namie with her sharp tongue and brimming confidence and Vorona supporting her in her own awkward way.

"These two have so much in common." Izaya mumbled softly.

Except he wasn't talking about the two women, but Vorona and Shizuo.

He had been just like Namie.

Blinded by his ideas and rage and frustration.

And Shizuo- Shizuo was just there.

Just like he was supposed to be.

Feeling his mood drop again, Izaya tried to chase away the worries befalling his mind.

"Karisawa doesn't hate you, if that helps. She doesn't really get why you had to tell Namie the way you killed her brother and she is kinda mad at you for that, but it takes a lot more for that girl to hate someone." Kadota informed further, aiding in Izaya's attempt to ease his worrying thoughts.

"But you understand?" Izaya asked amused.

"Not really. But knowing you, you didn't do it for fun," Kadota admitted.

Izaya laughed, quickly slapping a hand over his lips as he realized how loud he had been.

"That's an awful lot of trust you are putting in me," he whispered, "What if you are wrong? I might have just gone crazy and enjoy this kind of sadism."

Kadota merely shrugged, not appearing fazed in the slightest.

"I doubt someone who's saved the very woman he tried to anger would just be out for fun."

Hah.

Pure trust.

In an environment like this it was worth more than diamonds. The only other people that wouldn't doubt Izaya's actions were Shizuo and Shinra. Adding one more to the lot felt oddly relieving.

"Thank you." Izaya sighed softly, causing Kadota to blink.

"For what?"

"Being you, I guess."

to be continued~

Sorry for taking a little with this update xD Took me a little to get the dialoge done haha

but now I got some plot rolling and the next chappies should come sooner~

ast, sns and SD will be updated next Saturday :3